Pomp(ous arrogance) and Circumstanc(es which brought us together)
by cestlavie0919
Summary: After the Hunters War, society is rebuilding and a marriage is arranged between Derek Hale and Stiles Stilinski to help model peaceful coexistence between humans and werewolves. It makes sense given that both families are royal. The public loves them. But they hate each other. It just makes the sex that much better. Better description above the first chapter!
1. Chapter 1

Inspired by and based off of the Modern Royalty AU Gifset by tumblr user "teamsciles". The full prompt is:

Things start getting back to normal after the Hunters War in which the werewolves fought alongside the humans against Gerard Argent's tyranny. To prove that both species can live in peace, two of the most influential Californian families – The Hales (werewolves) and The Stilinskis (humans) – decide to arrange a marriage between their children. Derek Hale and Stanisław (just call me "Stiles") Stilinski seem like a perfect match. The first is a knight. The other runs an orphanage and the public simply _adores_ them, even more now that they're about to get married and act all lovey-dovey wherever they go. But when the lights dim down and there's nobody to witness it, the truth comes out: these two hate each other.

Well, it just makes the sex _that_ much better.

* * *

"It's a time for celebration, really," said the handsome man on TV. Stiles rolled his eyes as he watched the interview. "Our country is coming out of a civil war. We were able to save it from destruction from some truly evil people, and we showed the world that even though our country is deeply divided on many issues, we can come together and put aside basic differences."

The interviewer nodded as she smiled. "But there are still many who are wholeheartedly against Werewolves 'coming out of the moonlight' so-to-speak. The revelation that werewolves exist forced the nation to restructure from a state-system to territories and most of the people in charge _are_, in fact, werewolves. Your mother being one of them."

The handsome man seemed unfazed by the covert anti-Werewolf sentiment hiding between the reporter's words. "What they're not understanding is that each territory has one Werewolf leader and one human leader who work in tandem to ensure peace. Werewolves just want to coexist alongside humans. There were people who came out in droves to protest a little girl going to school just because she was black and the school she was going to was predominately white. We look back at that and think that those people were ignorant and racist. There were people who stood outside courthouses with signs condemning people because they were gay. We look back on that and think see that they were homophobic and ignorant. And the people who don't see that this new system is better are guilty of the same backwards way of thinking that affected previous civil rights issues. There will always be people who dislike others because they're slightly different. I think the fact that we're more than a decade out of a civil war against a man like Gerard Argent is proof positive of that."

"And how do you respond to the claim that this new system subverted democracy, since it established a monarchy system of dynastic rule among people who fought in the war?" the interviewer asked.

Again, the man's smile covered the annoyance he felt. "The old system allowed for a man like Gerard Argent to become incredibly powerful and then millions of people were killed. Humans and Werewolves alike."

"Statistically speaking, more humans died than werewolves," she said.

"But Lauren, statistically speaking, there are more humans in this nation than there are werewolves. A higher percentage of the people killed during the Hunters War were Werewolves. But I think that instead of nitpicking the details of how many of which species died, we should be, as a community and as a country, looking at how to prevent this tragedy from ever happening again and how to help the people whose lives have been completely upended by the Hunters. Which, if we're keeping score, and I'm quite sure that you are… they were all human." The banner beneath the man reappeared. The words _Beta Derek Hale, Werewolf Knight _faded as the network cut to commercial break.

Stiles sneered. He could tell that the reporter was being incredibly racist and completely lacked journalistic tact, but he had to admit that he rather enjoyed watching Derek Hale being given this line of questioning on national TV. He stood up, turning around to see Ana, one of the children in his care staring at the image of Derek on the screen. "He's so brave…" she said.

"He's a douche," Stiles replied. He squatted down so he could be eye level to her. "Why aren't you in bed, little one?"

"I had a bad dream," she said.

Stiles wasn't surprised. Ana often had bad dreams. "Was it the same one?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No, it was different."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Ana shook her head again. "Follow me," he said, holding out his hand. She grasped it and he led her to the kitchen of the orphanage. This was a nearly nightly routine for them. Stiles grabbed a loaf of bread and took some jelly out of the fridge. Ana was allergic to peanuts, so he always put honey on her sandwich instead. He cut the crusts off before cutting the sandwich in half diagonally, which Ana insisted made it taste better. He gave one half to Ana and bit into the other half. "Where's Mr. Derek?" she asked after swallowing her first bite.

"He's in Los Angeles right now," Stiles replied.

"Why doesn't he come here more often?" Ana asked.

"Because I don't want him to be here," Stiles said.

"Is it because he's…" Her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to search her six-year-old vocabulary for the right word to use. Instead, she borrowed from Stiles'. "A douche?"

Stiles laughed. "Yep. It's because he's a douche."

"But he's a knight and a prince! And you two are getting married!" Ana exclaimed. He smiled at her. He wished he could view this entire situation through her eyes. But it was so much more complicated than she or anyone else even knew.

Stiles utterly despised the man he'd just been watching on television. It wasn't because Derek Hale was a Werewolf. It was because he and Derek Hale were bethrothed.

* * *

_The new moon made the darkness of night seem all the more terrifying, considering the horrors people knew to exist in the world. Lord John Stilinski, the leading General of the Hunters War stood outside his car waiting for his visitor to arrive. He leaned down and looked into the mirror, unable to see much, but adjusted his collar as he stood up just to be sure. A rustling sound could be heard to his right. His head jerked in the direction as he saw a set of glowing red eyes flanked by another set of glowing blue ones._

_As they approached, John could see the red eyes belonged to Talia Hale. She was formerly the Alpha of Beacon Hills, a small town in Northern California, but was elected as the head Werewolf of the Territory of California after the war. He had only met her once before, but they communicated often since she was his counterpart. John had been the winningest General in the fight against the Hunters. "Alpha Hale," John said, bowing his head. "It's an honor to meet you."_

"_Lord Stilinski," Talia replied. "The honor is all mine."_

"_It's a shame we don't meet more often," John said. "We do rule California together."_

"_Well, if you're serious about your proposal, we'll become family," Talia said. "We'll be seeing each other quite often."_

"_I'm very serious. Our people are still divided," John said. "We need to show them that we can work side-by-side just like we did during the war."_

"_I agree. My son, Derek, has agreed to marry Stanisław and unite our families," Talia said. The blue-eyed beta who stood behind her stepped forward. He saluted John._

"_Hello Derek," John said. "It's good to see you again."_

"_Thank you, General," Derek replied, showing the same serene smile his mother had._

"_So where is your son?" Talia asked._

_John shifted slightly. "He's at his Orphanage. He sort of refused to come."_

_Talia gave a light laugh. "He's not happy about the arranged marriage, is he?"_

_John shook his head. "No he is not… In his words, 'Why do I have to submit to an outdated centuries-old practice that completely invalidates the notions of love and autonomy?' So I decided that this particular act of diplomacy had better be left to those better equipped to handle it."_

"_He's probably just nervous. He'll come around," Derek said._

"_It won't be a difficult sell to the public. Both Derek and Stanisław are well-liked by the people. The PR practically takes care of itself," Talia said. "We just need to have them seen in public before we make the announcement. It needs to look organic."_

"_I agree. But it will be easier to convince my son to go along with this if we call him Stiles instead of Stanisław," John pointed out._

* * *

Stiles knew he needed to go to bed soon, but waited until Ana was once again falling asleep. He gingerly picked her up, carrying her back into the room with the other beds. He couldn't wait for the new wing to be done so that the children in his care would have more room. As he pulled the blanket over Ana, he looked around. Everyone else was sleeping soundly. He smiled as he quietly stepped out of the room and went upstairs to his suite. He was to have his first public outing with Derek the next day. His best friend, Scott, was going to watch over the children in his absence. He didn't want to leave them, though… least of all to play happy couple with Derek Hale.

Snippets of Derek's interview were already being shown on other news stations as Stiles flipped through the channels. Each time he saw Derek's face, he felt angrier and angrier at the situation he was in. Why couldn't Derek have been betrothed to someone who could keep up with is vapid socialite career? Stiles had an orphanage to run and had done a very good job of staying out of the limelight for the majority of the time since the War. Occasionally paparazzi would show up on the grounds of the orphanage and Stiles would call the police to have them removed, or he'd be seen out shopping for supplies and end up on the cover of some gossip rag. But that was the price of being Royal. He didn't care what was said about him, so long as it didn't affect his kids.

Stiles fell asleep crunching numbers in his head and preparing lists of information Scott would need, since many of the staff members were off during the weekends.

The next morning, Stiles woke up to a young boy sitting at the foot of his bed. It startled him at first, which caused the boy to cry. Immediately his protective instincts kicked in and he began doing everything he could to calm the little boy down. "Jacob, what's wrong?"

"Devin said that you're leaving and you're not coming back and I told him he was being stupid so he hit me for calling him stupid. But I didn't call him stupid, but I just said he was _being_ stupid," Jacob said, speaking so quickly that Stiles feared he would pass out from lack of oxygen. "But he said that you're leaving us to go be with that Derek guy and I told Devin that you're not going to leave us because you love us and he said that Derek is your Knight and you love him more than us."

"Word travels fast here, doesn't it," Stiles chuckled as he patted a smooth spot on the bed inviting Jacob to sit there. He was always impressed at how effectively information spread within the walls of the orphanage. "I'm not leaving you guys forever. Just for a few days. I have something important to do then I'll be back. And I'm going to tell Devin not to hit you. And there's no way I would ever love Derek more than I love each of you."

More tears welled up in Jacob's eyes. "But three days is a long time…"

Stiles wiped them away with his thumb as he smiled at the young boy. "Yeah, it sort of is… but you know what happens when I come back, right?" Jacob shook his head. "I'm bringing presents!"

"Will you bring me a book?" Jacob asked.

"Of course I will, buddy," Stiles replied. "But you've got to be really good while I'm gone. Mr. Scott and Mrs. Kira will tell me if you weren't."

Jacob's face lit up with a huge grin. "I'll be the best."

"You're an overachiever, Jacob," Stiles said, mussing up the kid's hair. "I love it. Now go get ready for breakfast."

As soon as Jacob was gone, Stiles quickly showered and dressed before heading down to the dining hall. He had 34 children in his care. They, along with the staff members who helped him run the orphanage, were his family.

Staff members served the food before sitting among them. Though Stiles didn't hold any religious beliefs, several of the kids did, and as such, Stiles always gave them an opportunity to say a prayer before each meal. As soon as that was over, the kids began digging in.

"So Derek Hale, huh?" one of the staff members said as the din of the kids eating began to fill the dining hall.

"Is there anyone who doesn't know?" Stiles asked exasperatedly.

"I didn't know you two were even dating!" she said. "I must admit that I'm incredibly jealous!"

"Don't be," Stiles replied flatly.

"If you get tired of him, feel free to send him over to me!" she added.

"I'll definitely keep that in mind," Stiles said as he filled his fork with scrambled eggs.

None of them knew that this was arranged. They all thought he'd carried on a secret romance with the son of California's highest-ranking Werewolf. The press was already running wild with the idea of the Hale/Stilinski wedding and Stiles had been instructed to act as though the information regarding his relationship with Derek had been "leaked". What was worse was that today, at their first public outing, Stiles would need to act as though he were happy about being with Derek. The press was billing this as a modern day fairy tale romance, complete with a knight—who just so happened to also be a Werewolf prince.

Though Derek had offered to pick him up, Stiles declined. He would rather have bitten down on a cyanide pill than actually spend three hours alone with Derek in a car. He decided that angry rock music was the most appropriate soundtrack to his drive to the event in San Diego. They were there to open a park to commemorate the decade of peace since the war. Stiles was also going to meet many of the other Alphas of California.

Derek was there waiting as Stiles parked his car. It wasn't his first time meeting Derek, but it _was_ their first time seeing one another since the information about their upcoming nuptials had been released. Photographers were there to capture the moment. Stiles stared at himself in the rearview mirror. "Time to earn that Academy Award, Stiles. Make them think you're happy." He affixed a convincing, yet entirely fake smile to his face and opened the door, stepping out to the awaiting applause. Stiles could hear one reporter narrating the event into a microphone. "Stanisław 'Stiles' Stilinski is stepping out of his car. His doting fiancé is there to embrace him."

Stiles opened his arms, signaling to Derek that it was time to start the performance. Derek hugged Stiles tightly before bringing him in for a kiss. Stiles kissed back, feeling the need to gargle bleach once they parted. He had never reviled someone so much as he did Derek.

Derek put his hand at the small of Stiles' back guiding him through the throngs of reporters being held back by security guards as they thrust microphones at the couple, snapped photographs, and shouted their incredibly invasive questions. As they walked over to the red carpet, Derek leaned over. "We have to give interviews to CNN and NBC. The BBC sent a correspondent, but I've not gotten word that she has arrived yet."

"How long is this going to last?" Stiles asked. "I just got here and my cheeks are already hurting from the fake smiling."

"Keep smiling," Derek said. "We're seated on the dais next to our parents, in full view of the press."

"Do I have to talk to you the entire time?" Stiles asked, making no point to hide how unhappy he was at the situation.

"I'd prefer it," Derek replied. "It will allow me to get to know you a bit better."

"We don't know each other at all," Stiles pointed out. "How am I supposed to answer questions about our relationship? This is really the first instance of us spending any significant amount of time together."

"Just follow my lead," Derek suggested.

They reached the area where CNN had set up camp. The camera men instructed them where to stand and the reporter began asking them questions. "This seems like a match made in heaven," she began. Stiles stifled the urge to roll his eyes, reminding himself that this was being broadcast on live television. "How did it come about?"

_My father doesn't know the meaning of the term 'parental boundaries'_, Stiles thought. But Derek spoke up, flashing that nauseatingly perfect smile of his. "It just sort of happened. It's like any good love story. Werewolf meets boy and falls head over heels."

Stiles felt his stomach churn at that comment. "And Stiles, you've really been out of the spotlight in recent years, whereas Derek is travelling around and very much in the public eye. How has that affected the way you two interact."

_Fuck,_ he thought. He knew he needed to be the one to answer, because it would look strange if he deferred to Derek. "Honestly, with technology being what it is, it's really not difficult to carry on a relationship, even when he's travelling all over the place. I've always been a very private person, and I'm usually pretty busy with my orphanage, so we make it work." _Nailed it_.

"Speaking of the orphanage," the reporter began. "How have the kids reacted to the news?"

_Ana called him a douche_, Stiles thought. Derek jumped in before he could reply. "They're pretty excited."

"One last question and I'll let you go. Your two families are arguably the most powerful and most important families in California. There's got to be a lot of pressure for you guys to have kids. Have you discussed that?" the reporter asked.

Stiles had to stop himself from asking what cracker jack box this reporter got her degree from if she honestly thought that they'd even be able to have kids. "I've currently got 34 kids, so I think my hands are full," Stiles said curtly.

"I think it's important that we figure ourselves out as a married couple before we open that can of worms," Derek said, adding a slightly more diplomatic tone to Stiles' answer.

"Thank you both for your time and congratulations on your engagement!" the reporter said before signing off.

As they walked toward the NBC tent, Derek muttered, "You didn't have to be so rude."

"It's not any of her business," Stiles replied through gritted teeth as he smiled and waved at the fans. He looked out into the crowds, seeing people who were holding signs that said things like "Marry me instead, Derek Hale!" and "Back off my future Werewolf husband!" Stiles wanted to shout to them that if they wanted Derek, they could have them. He was, however, amused that there was another group of fans holding similar signs that threatened Derek bodily harm for taking Stiles off the market. "If you're looking for a more cooperative fiancé, I think you have your volunteer pool right there."

"I'm not engaged to them, Stiles. I'm betrothed to you," Derek said as the producers approached them, affixing microphones to their lapels and showing them where to stand for their second interview. Stiles decided to pause this conversation, not wanting any of it to be recorded.

The correspondent approached and greeted them. "I'm going to make this as painless for you guys as possible. I'm sure you're sick of having cameras in your face. It's just going to be a few questions about short term and long term plans and I am going to ask one question about Derek's political career. Is that alright?"

"Of course," Derek said. "Just as long as you don't give me the Lauren Williams treatment."

"That was despicable what she did. On behalf of all journalists I apologize," he said.

_I thought it was hilarious_, Stiles thought.

The camera man announced that they were ready to start filming. He counted them down and then pointed at the correspondent, Jason who began his interview. "I'm Jason Duchene reporting live from the grand opening of the Derek Hale Peace Park. Derek is no longer California's most eligible bachelor as I'm currently standing here with him and his fiancé, Lord Stanisław Stilinski."

"It's 'Stiles', actually," Stiles corrected as politely as possible.

"I do apologize about that," Jason replied. "So both of you are members of the Californian Royal families. Have you known each other for a long time?"

"We met at our parents' coronations," Derek replied. "But we're both really busy so we didn't spend too much time together."

"And Stiles, it's well known that your orphanage is very close to your heart. Are you going to be able to continue to run it while still fulfilling your royal duties once married?"

Stiles pursed his lips. It bothered him that everyone seemed to think that because he was human, he was going to play the role of the doting wife. "There really isn't a force on this planet that will get me to abandon the kids in my care."

Jason seemed taken aback at the strong word choice given as a response to the question. "Well, the public seems to be wholeheartedly supportive of this marriage. How has the People's response affected you?"

"It's great to know that everyone is happy for us," Derek said.

"One last question and I'll let you guys get going. Your sister, Laura, was next in line as Alpha in the Hale family. Last we heard she abdicated her position as Heir Apparent and it passed to you. Are you at all nervous about the idea of becoming the territory's next reigning monarch? You're already a decorated Knight, and you fought during the war, but many people are calling you a politician now. Is there any truth behind that claim?"

"Honestly, my family was just as shocked as the public was. I love my sister but I definitely understand her reasons and it has been rather strange having to step up and take over in that manner, but my mom is the Alpha right now and she's still quite young and healthy so I don't foresee me actually becoming Alpha for a very long time. So until then, I can simply spend time with my soon-to-be husband and work on more pressing diplomatic issues that we're facing. We _are_ still trying to rebuild after the war. It's been a decade, but we still have so much more to do and we can't afford not to continue with the progress we've made toward full integration between humans and werewolves. But I am currently and will continue to be first and foremost a Knight ready to protect and defend the people of this territory if the need arises."

"So you're saying that you're a lover _and_ a fighter?"

Derek chuckled. "I guess you could put it like that… yeah."

"And as if we didn't already think Stiles was a lucky man to have you! Thanks so much for taking the time to talk with us," Jason said before addressing the camera. "Reporting live from Los Angeles, I'm Jason Duchene for NBC news." When the cameraman gave the all clear, producers walked over to take the microphones from them and Jason thanked them once again before they continued down the red carpet.

They posed together for several photo opportunities and signed a few autographs before security ushered them past the chaotic mess and into the park toward the dais where Stiles saw his father and Derek's mother and younger sister, Cora. "Where is Laura?" Stiles asked.

"She didn't want to come," Derek replied.

Stiles understood why. Laura had been a great leader. Both she and Derek fought directly under Stiles' father during the war. Like her mother, she was capable of a full-wolf transformation. However during one of the last great battles, she was forced to watch as Gerard Argent himself cut her Mate in half with a broadsword. Laura tore Gerard to shreds, nearly completely losing control. It took three Alphas to pull her off of his remains and Talia herself had to force her out of her shift. The psychological toll it took on her severed her connection to her wolf, possibly permanently There were very few people who actually knew any of that. The story that was allowed to go public was that Laura simply wanted to focus on charity work and no longer wished to inherit the throne of Alpha.

As they approached, Cora smiled brightly at Derek. Stiles bowed respectfully to Talia and took his seat near his father. "I trust you behaved," John said quietly.

"As well as could be expected," Stiles replied.

"So that's a no?" John asked.

"The interviews went great," Derek assured him.

"How was your ride here?" Talia asked Stiles.

"It was lovely," Stiles replied politely. "It was a nice, scenic ride all by myself—which is how I intended to stay for the next few years, actually. Funny how things change like that."

Talia moved her chair backwards and indicated for Stiles to do the same. She leaned behind John and said, "I understand that this isn't the ideal situation for you, Stiles. I truly wish there were another way, but we have to model peaceful coexistence between our species and this is the best way we can."

"I get it, your majesty," Stiles replied. "And I'm willing to go through with the marriage but we need to dispel these circulating notions that I'm just going to be the doting housewife. That might work for Prince William and Princess Kate, but it's not going to work for me. I can't abandon my kids."

"Nobody is asking you to," John interjected. "We're just asking that you are convincing enough to the public that until the wedding happens, nobody suspects that this is anything more than a case of true love."

"And I'll do that as long as you recognize that you whored me out for the sake of a political statement," Stiles said. "So if we're all clear on what this really is, let's enjoy a grand opening, shall we?"

"That's enough, Stiles," John growled.

Talia frowned and they all moved back to the table. Derek leaned over. "We've got three days to spend together. Let's just get through this event and we can go somewhere that's just the two of us and really sit down and talk."

Stiles didn't respond. Instead, he continued smiling his fake smile, looking out over the growing crowd. The seating chart had been drawn up specifically to mix the Werewolf and human guests. This whole charade was about unity, after all, and segregating the Werewolf and human populations at this event was counterintuitive. When the last of the guests had been seated, Talia and John stood up and approached the podium and microphone, Everyone stood up and bowed to them, Derek, Cora, and Stiles included. John and Talia gave everyone permission to be seated.

Stiles gazed into the crowd and was able to pick out a few familiar faces. Nearly every Werewolf leader from across the country was here, and any human who was anyone of note seemed to be there as well. "Thank you and welcome to the grand opening event for the park dedicated to a brave and distinguished man who I had the pleasure of leading into battle during the War many times. And I'm not just doting on him because he's soon to be my son-in-law!"

The crowd laughed. Derek did to, so Stiles faked one and continued half-heartedly paying attention.

"The Hunters War devastated many regions in the United Territories of North America and in the decade since it ended, my son Derek has become a champion of Werewolf rights and through his organization _The Hale Harvest_, he has managed to help feed and clothe thousands of families who lost everything in Gerard Argent's pursuit of genocide and destruction." The crowd broke into applause. Stiles turned to Derek and flashed a smile. It must have seemed convincing enough because several people in the front rows gave a collected "aww" as Derek placed his arm around Stiles, giving him a gentle hug. Talia gave them both an approving glance before continuing with her speech. "As you all know, our sons are engaged and no one is happier than we are to see them so in love and so happy." The crowd erupted into even louder applause.

People began chanting "Now kiss!" All eyes on them, Stiles knew that he'd have to make this one even more convincing than the one in the parking lot. He leaned toward Derek and kissed him deeply, eliciting a few whistles from the crowd and yet more deafening applause.

When the kiss broke, the couple looked out over the crowd who were giving them a standing ovation. Knowing that there were werewolves who would be able to hear his snarky commentary, Stiles kept it to himself and instead continued his rather stellar acting.

"This park and our sons' love will forever serve as a reminder of what we can accomplish when humans and Werewolves work together," Talia said.

More applause erupted. When it finally died down, a man stood up. It happened in a blur to Stiles. He shouted a call for human supremacy and pulled out his gun, aiming it at the dais. "Gerard Argent's dream lives on!" he yelled. Talia pushed Cora and John out of the way as Derek wrapped his arms around Stiles and pulled him to the ground. Stiles watched as a bullet whizzed through the air where his head had been just moments prior. Werewolves nearby quickly took the man down, but everyone was shaken.

Derek looked into Stiles' eyes. "Are you alright?"

"You saved my life," Stiles stammered. "Why did you do that?"

"You're my fiancé," Derek replied, standing up when someone shouted that the coast was clear. He extended his arm to help pull Stiles up, but Stiles refused it, choosing to get up on his own.

Everyone looked at Talia and John, both of whom seemed livid. "How was he allowed to get in here?" she demanded.

The Werewolf who had been in charge of security looked just as confused as everyone else. "I'm not sure, Your Majesty. But we'll find out."

"No," Talia said. "I want to question him myself."

"I don't think that's a good idea," the Werewolf said cautiously.

"He attempted to kill the Royal Families," Talia replied severely. "He will answer to me and Lord Stilinski and nobody else."

John looked over at Derek. "Get Stiles out of here. Go somewhere safe."

"Take Cora," Talia added.

Derek nodded, grabbing Stiles' hand and pulling him away. Stiles tried to wriggle out of Derek's grip, but to no use. Cora followed swiftly behind them. Stiles kept yelling at Derek to let him go, but Derek didn't until he was forcing Stiles and Cora into the car. "Where the fuck are we going?" Stiles demanded.

"We have a vacation home outside of Salinas. It's the closest Hale compound to us, and there's really no safer place on earth," Derek replied. Stiles got out his cell phone and began dialing. "Who are you calling?"

"I need to let Scott know that I'm alright. The kids will be worried about me," Stiles replied.

"Not yet," Derek said.

"You might be my fiancé, but you're not my boss, Derek. I have kids who watch the news. They're going to be worried. They deserve to know that I'm alright," Stiles said, dialing Scott's cell.

"Stiles!" Scott breathed. "You're alright!"

"Yeah. It was a close call. Are they alright?" Stiles asked.

"Ana tried to lock herself in the dormitories, but Kira and I were able to get her out and calm her down," Scott assured him.

"Schedule her an emergency meeting with the psychologist," Stiles told her. "She watched her parents get gunned down. This will likely bring up old issues."

"Will do," Scott replied. "Is there any way you can get here sooner?"

"I'll do my best," Stiles promised.

"They'll appreciate it," Scott said.

"Tell them I love them. I'll be home soon," Stiles said before hanging up.

He stared out the window as he watched the reddish mountains pass by en route to the Hale Compound. "Are you going to do the opposite of what I say for the duration of our relationship?" Derek asked.

"If it will annoy you, then yes," Stiles replied.

"Do you think this is fun and games for me?" Derek asked.

"Actually, I think this entire situation is perfect for you," Stiles said.

"No, actually," Derek said. "It's not. I don't particularly like you, either. But I have a duty to my family to go through with this, so I will. Plenty of people in arranged marriages end up happy with one another in time, even if that person wasn't their first choice."

"Derek, you wouldn't be my millionth choice!" Stiles spat, causing Cora to giggle in the back seat. Her laughter ceased when Stiles continued. "You are going to get to continue doing everything you ever wanted _and_ enjoy in all the celebrity this brings while I'm stuck trying to dodge the spotlight. Marriage was never part of my plan. My kids need me more than anyone else would and now, I'm stuck having to marry the person I hate most because my dad thought it'd be a good idea to whore me out to the Hales."

"You don't even know me, Stiles. You don't know anything about me. How could you possibly hate me that much?" Derek demanded. "And you're not the only one who got whored out, Stiles. This marriage wasn't what I wanted either, but when my mother asked me to, I went with it because she's my Alpha. So instead of fighting me on this, why don't you accept that we're in a bad situation and just start trying to get to know me and what I actually stand for instead of jumping to conclusions that aren't true?"

"I don't care to get to know you. I was given _no_ choice in any of this. I was simply told that I had to marry you. And now everyone just seems to think that I'm going to give up my orphanage to come play happy hubby with you as you go from one territory to another repeating the same old tired rhetoric about Human/Werewolf coexistence," Stiles said. "In case you haven't noticed, our species are coexisting. There are a few people who don't want us to, but they're the very vast minority and nobody takes them seriously anyway."

"Marrying me doesn't mean you have to give up your orphanage, Stiles," Derek said softly.

"But it's going to make keeping it open that much harder. Do you know how hard I work to get donations to keep that place running? Do you understand the difficulty in placing kids in homes where they're going to be loved and helped the way they need to be helped? Several of my kids lost their parents in the War. They watched as Werewolves tore apart their fathers and Hunters raped and killed their mothers. Do you know what kind of effect it's going to have no those kids to see me marrying you?" Stiles asked. "Humans weren't the only ones who committed atrocities during that War. You and I both know this. You and I also know that the Alphas stole the memories of what the Werewolves did from anyone who witnessed it."

"I'm not like those Werewolves," Derek said.

"Really? Then show me your eyes," Stiles said.

Derek was chilled by this request. "How did you know about my eyes?" he demanded.

"My father told me. I know what it means, too," Stiles replied.

"I killed to defend innocent people," Derek asserted.

Stiles laughed. "So nobody innocent met their death by your claws? Not a single person? You're the only Werewolf in history to have his eyes just randomly turn blue one day with no rhyme or reason why?"

"The universe doesn't define things by human notions of right or wrong. I only killed Hunters in battle, Stiles. And I never took a life if there was any other course of action available to me. Whether or not you want to believe that is up to you," Derek said, ending the conversation.

The rest of the five-hour drive was spent in silence, but Stiles preferred it that way. As they pulled up, Derek extended his claws and inserted them into an ornate Celtic-looking symbol outside the gate. He turned it forward then backwards. It glowed blue for a moment before the gate swung open, allowing them to drive up to the large mansion set deep within the property.

The mansion was huge. It was one of the largest homes Stiles had ever seen before. "Hale money goes back pretty far, I guess, huh?" Stiles thought out loud.

"Even before we implemented the new system of government, the Hale family was seen as royalty among Werewolves," Cora said. "The Alphas of our family have always had the power of a full-wolf transformation."

"Wasn't Laura able to fully transform?" Stiles asked.

"Occasionally, betas can learn how by having complete mastery over their inner wolf," Derek said as he began sniffing the air.

"Derek, what is it?" Cora asked.

"Do you smell that?"

"Smell what?"

"I smell someone… Somebody is in here."

Stiles' phone began vibrating in his pocket. He pulled it out and answered it, studying Derek and Cora as they both tried to figure out the source of the strange scent. "Stiles, where are you guys?"

"Derek brought us to the Hale vacation home outside Salinas," Stiles replied.

"Get back in the car and leave… now," John said. There was a panic in his voice that unnerved Stiles and caused knots to twist in his gut. Not much panicked his father.

"I can't say over the phone, Stiles. Just please… listen to me for once," John begged.

"Where should we go?" Stiles asked.

"The Bunker," John answered. "Talia and I will meet you there."

Stiles hung up and looked at the two werewolves who were eyeing him with panic. "We've got to go now."

"Stiles…" Derek said, pointedly glancing down at the human's chest. Stiles looked down to see a red laser aimed right over his heart. There was someone pointing a gun at him.

"If any of you moves a single muscle, young Lord Stilinski gets 30 rounds in his chest," came a woman's voice.

* * *

**Author's Note**: So this is why I haven't updated anything in a while! Also, there are a couple of stories that I've been working on that are only going to be posted on my Archive of Our Own account, so if you would like to check out everything I've been up to lately, my username is lavieboheme0919. This story is going to be a slow burn and a fun ride. Please leave me feedback! This chapter wasn't beta'd so any errors are my own and I sincerely apologize!


	2. Chapter 2

The beautiful, slender woman descended the stairs at a leisurely pace. "I want both of you to shift back to human form," she said to Derek and Cora. Werewolf packs were incredibly hierarchical and Cora refused to comply until Derek did, as he ranked higher in the pack than her. The red dot remained focused on Stiles' chest.

"Who are you?" Derek demanded. As she stepped into the light, Derek could make out scars that ran from her jawline down her neck. They were unmistakably caused by a Werewolf's claws.

"I'm Braeden," the woman replied. "But you… it's such a shame they're marrying you off to him."

"It's a crime punishable by death to threaten a member of the Royal Families," Stiles said. "And right now, you're threatening the lives of three of them."

"I'd always heard you were smart, Stiles," she quipped. "But I'm smarter. I know that authorities are on their way and I only have a few minutes before they burst through that door. I also know that I'm going to be caught by them." She turned around, pulling a pistol from a holster on her side and fired shots, killing the two men who had been aiming at Stiles. The red dot disappeared. The lower chance of his imminent death meant that Stiles was able to notice the manner in which Derek flinched at the sound of Braeden's bullets. He thought he heard a slight whimper, but considered the idea that he could be mistaken, given how loud the gun's discharge was.

"What do you want?" Derek demanded. The scent of the men's blood hit him, turning his stomach. He hated that scent. But at the moment, his sister and fiancé were in danger. He knew he needed to keep it together. He decided to channel it all into anger, using the anchoring technique that had worked for him for so long.

"Right now, I don't want anything. I just wanted you to know that everything you fought for… everything your marriage is supposed to stand for…" she paced around Derek, her eyes moving between the three of them. "There are people who are trying to tear it apart."

"People like you?" Derek asked. He turned around, facing Braeden. Within seconds she was disarmed and Derek had her pinned. "I didn't fight so that people like you could bring us back to the slaughter and chaos of the War."

"It's not me, I swear. I was sent by someone who wants to stop it from happening just as much as you do," she replied, trying in vain to throw Derek off of her. Stiles huddled near Cora, trying to protect her; despite the fact that he knew she could protect herself.

"Who are you working for?" Derek demanded. "Keep in mind you can either tell me or we'll find out without your consent."

"No you won't, Derek," Braeden said. "Because it was an Alpha who sent me… and that's all I know. Whoever it was, they took their identity from my memories."

"You'll still be sent for questioning," Derek said. "If your story checks out, you'll be granted your freedom."

Police officers burst through the door. "Your Highnesses, are you alright?"

"We're fine," Stiles said. He pulled out his phone to call his dad and tell him what was happening. He didn't get an answer, so instead he left a voicemail and hoped he'd get a reply soon.

As the officers cuffed the woman, Derek approached Stiles and placed a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. "I'm sorry I put you in harms way like that."

Stiles rolled his eyes and made a point to remove Derek's hand. "Just bring me to my orphanage."

"We shouldn't split up… not until we know we're all safe," Derek said. "We'll stay here tonight. When my mom sends the all-clear, I'll bring you back. Until then, you and I can use this time to get to know one another."

"I only have to marry you. That doesn't require me to get to know you. Can you stop trying?" Stiles demanded.

"You could try a little harder," Derek said.

"You're right. I could," Stiles admitted. "But I'm not going to."

Cora brushed past them with an arsenal of cleaning chemicals and set to scrubbing the blood stains on the carpet upstairs. She mentioned to Derek, knowing how much he hated blood, that he should take this time to relax, but there were more pressing matters at hand.

Stiles could tell Derek was angry, but was holding it back while the police were still there. "We're going to post several officers to patrol the perimeter until your mother has a chance to question her," one of the officers said. Derek thanked him before heading upstairs, asking Stiles to follow him.

"Here's the room we'll stay in," Derek said as he turned on the light.

"This mansion is huge. Why do we have to stay in the same room?" Stiles asked.

"We're engaged, Stiles," Derek said. "I don't know why I must keep reminding you of that fact. We need to keep up appearances."

"For whom? Cora? She knows how much I don't like you!"

"I have been nothing but chivalrous to you, Stiles. I've saved your life. I've treated you honorably and acted as a Knight should. You have no reason not to like me," Derek said, pulling Stiles into the room and shutting the door behind him, locking it in one quick motion.

"I've already told you why I don't like you," Stiles said. "I don't need to keep defending it. I dislike plenty of people for plenty of reasons, Derek. I'm not making any sort of special exception for you. Don't worry."

Derek heaved a sigh and went into the bathroom attached to the bedroom. Stiles heard the shower come on and decided to lie down on the bed and get some rest. The day had been exhausting.

After several minutes, he heard Derek's voice call from the bathroom. "Stiles… can you see if you can find a towel in the linen closet?"

Stiles rolled his eyes and got up and searched half-heartedly. "No luck," he replied before lying back down.

Derek was annoyed, but allowed himself to air-dry as best he could before stepping out of the shower and standing in the doorway. "Nobody has been in this house since before the War. I have no clothes to change into and no towels to be able to wrap around myself in here. Can you _please_ check one of the other rooms or, at the very least, ask Cora to?"

"How about you cover yourself up?" Stiles demanded. He watched as water dripped down Derek's torso, venturing down to the matting of black hair that framed a sizeable collection of the Hale family jewels. He felt his own family jewels stirring. He chastised his body for its reaction to Derek's. "Nobody wants to see you naked."

One inhale and Derek knew that was a complete lie. Stiles was aroused. That made the fact that he was masking it with anger all the more entertaining and annoying. He decided to try and beat Stiles at his own game and crawled into the bed next to him. "We're going to be married. You're going to be seeing me naked quite a bit. Get used to it."

"I'm not going to get used to it!" Stiles argued. "Because I'll sleep in a separate room if I have to. I'm obligated to marry you. I'm not obligated to love you… and I'm certainly not obligated to have sex with you."

"Sex isn't an obligation, Stiles," Derek said. "It's a perk."

"Well! Don't you think highly of yourself!" Stiles exclaimed, disgust permeating his voice.

In one swift motion, Derek moved on top of Stiles and tossed his phone to the floor. "You seem to forget that I'm a Werewolf. You're turned on right now. Want to know how I know that? I can _smell_ it on you. Right now, you reek of desire."

"You're deluding yourself," Stiles replied, trying to squirm out from under Derek.

"And you're lying. You can be sexually attracted to someone without liking them," Derek said. He ground his hips against Stiles' growing erection. "And it certainly seems to me that you're _quite_ sexually attracted."

"Jesus Christ, Derek!" Stiles growled, again trying to climb out from under him. "You're like a dog with a bone…"

Derek grabbed Stiles' erection through his pants. "Yours is the only bone I see."

Stiles rolled his eyes. "Fine. If it will shut you up and give me some peace and quiet, then let's fuck. But I swear to God that if you kiss me, I'll deck you."

"Don't worry," Derek said. "I wouldn't dream of it."

Stiles quickly pulled his clothing off. He felt slightly self-conscious at Derek's raised eyebrow as the Werewolf studied his body. He would have felt insulted if he hadn't noticed Derek's cock hardening. "On your stomach," Stiles ordered. "I don't want to have to see your face."

"You're so romantic," Derek chided. "How were you single before our engagement?"

"Fuck off," Stiles whispered into his ear as Derek moved into position and Stiles moved into place on top of him. "Do you have a condom?"

"I'm a Werewolf, Stiles. I don't get STDs. And you're not going to get me pregnant. We don't need one."

"Any lube or is my spit going to have to suffice?"

"Slow down there," Derek teased. "I might just start to think you _care_."

Stiles shrugged. "It's your asshole… asshole." He worked up some saliva in his mouth and spat it into his hand, before shoving a finger into Derek, who tensed. He continued trying to prep Derek for several more moments before slicking his cock with his spit and slowly pushing it into the Werewolf. Derek proved to be tight. He gripped Stiles like a vice. Stiles watched as Derek winced and gritted his teeth against the pain. Had it been anyone else, Stiles would have slowed down and worked Derek more to help this be a more mutually enjoyable experience. But it wasn't anyone else. It was Derek Hale. He didn't care that this was their first time having sex as a couple. He just cared that he had a lot of pent-up frustration sexual and otherwise, and Derek had offered himself as a willing recipient of it.

Stiles continued burying himself inside Derek. The two of them released gasps and sighs, though for entirely different reasons. Once Stiles was all the way inside, Derek hoped for a few moments to adjust, but Stiles powered on. Derek finally spoke up. "Stiles… please stop. It hurts too much."

Stiles stopped thrusting. "But I'm so close…" Stiles beat his fist against the mattress. "Leave it to you to take the fun out of sex."

"That wasn't fun for me," Derek said. "Can you please pull out?"

Stiles grumbled and pulled himself out of Derek and angrily fell onto his back on the bed. "I don't know how I'm supposed to live the rest of my life married to you. Especially if sex isn't going to even be satisfying."

Derek didn't make any attempt to hide his disgust. "You call what just happened 'sex'? How unfortunate for you…"

"Go fuck yourself," Stiles spat, moving to sit on the side of the bed.

"I just might have to…" Derek said flatly. He stood up, noticing the scent of fury running off Stiles. He was content to just let Stiles go take care of it himself, but knew that if he didn't put effort into their relationship, nobody would. "If you want to finish, come into the bathroom in two minutes." He drew a hot bath and added some salts and oils. When it was the perfect temperature, he called Stiles to come in. To Derek's relief, he did, though his face showed he was not thrilled about doing it. Derek climbed into the tub and invited Stiles to join him.

"This seems romantic," Stiles said warily, scrunching up his nose at the idea.

"It's going to be sexy," Derek promised. "But that doesn't mean it has to be romantic. I'm not going to waste any effort on you when you don't seem to want to put any into our relationship."

"I thought we were going to be having sex… not a guilt trip," Stiles said.

Derek shoved Stiles against the wall of the shower as he pushed his cock into the human's ass, all while simultaneously drawing off the pain of it. "I don't see why it can't be both," he said, getting himself entirely into his fiancé in one go. Stiles was rendered breathless by it all.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Stiles gasped.

Derek wasted no time in working to a pace that was mutually satisfying. At first, Stiles let out streams of obscenities, but they soon devolved into unintelligible grunts and moans. Stiles' body quaked as his first orgasm hit him, his semen sprayed the tile, but Derek didn't stop. He was barely phased by it. His stamina allowed him to go much, much longer. When Derek no longer had to siphon off pain, he was able to focus on Stiles. His heightened senses were able to read every sound, smell, and movement that came from his fiancé. He played Stiles' body like an instrument. For an hour, the hot water splashed onto them as Derek brought Stiles to orgasm eight times.

It was as Stiles' body was contracting around him for the last time that Derek sped up even further before shooting inside his fiancé. He let out a powerful roar, unable to prevent his fangs and claws from protruding as the intensity of it swept throughout his body. As he returned to his senses, he shifted back and pulled out of Stiles, becoming aware of just how much he had been supporting the weight of the human. He let Stiles fall as a crumpled mess beneath the steady stream of the water. He bent down, his mouth less than a centimeter from Stiles' ear and whispered, "In case you were wondering, _that_ is how you fuck someone." He stood up and walked out of the bathroom, not caring that he was dripping water all over the carpets. He was glad to have beaten Stiles at his own game.

* * *

Derek spent several hours in silence downstairs. He washed his and Stiles' clothes and even found some towels, though he didn't bring any to Stiles, who was sleeping in his attempt to recover from his orgasmic stupor. His mother and John were on their way and would be arriving shortly, as would much of the staff from their main mansion in Sacramento. There would be the dedicated corps of workers to look after Laura, and security around her had been doubled, but they were all to remain in a safe house that nobody else knew about.

Derek was busy penning the press release that the members of the media who were setting up camp outside the estate's grounds were clamoring to receive. Cora gave her input when he asked for it, but the final draft would need to be approved by Talia and John before it could be released, and the royal families would need to release it together.

When the clothes were dry, Derek folded them neatly and brought them upstairs, setting them carefully on the bed. He watched Stiles sleep for several minutes, struck by how beautiful his fiancé was and how much he inwardly shared his sentiment toward the marriage. He didn't want to get married to Stanisław Stilinski. He didn't want the media to be focusing its attention on their relationship, because it meant that they were being pulled away from the important issues of maintaining the peace and continuing the rebuilding of the territory. But it was his duty, and duty _always_ came before personal desires. It was the first lesson he learned as a soldier in the War.

He wished Stiles could see their situation the way he did. But humans were so very short-sighted. It was one of their many faults. But the most tragic thing about this entire situation was that if Stiles wasn't such an asshole, Derek knew they'd enjoy a very happy engagement and an even happier marriage. The political power and the money wielded by both families were immense. All Stiles had to do was stop resisting the inevitable, and the world would open up to him in ways it never would have before.

Resentment began to swell inside Derek, poisoning the moment. He closed his eyes and shook his head, trying to capture in his memory the few seconds he was able to like Stiles because Derek knew that when Stiles woke up, this peaceful beauty he held about him would fade into the angry, spiteful asshole that made Derek suddenly for a moment so short, he could have easily denied it happened, lament the fact that hunters weren't as much of a threat to his lifespan as they once were.

* * *

Several members of the Werewolf guard set up the podium outside the estate. Talia and John were agreed that since the attack happened at the park that was dedicated in honor of Derek, that Derek and Stiles should be the ones to make the announcement. Stiles outright refused to give any part of the speech.

John decided that if Stiles wouldn't speak, then he'd have to be positioned right at Derek's side. "And Stiles, if you don't look like you love Derek more than life itself, I'll personally kill you," John warned.

"I'll play my part," Stiles promised, though begrudgingly so.

Stiles stood close by Derek as they approached the microphone. Everyone bowed in their presence and when Derek gave them permission to stand up, he began his speech. "Earlier today, a cowardly individual decided to interrupt the park that was to be dedicated to me. That is of little importance to me. What is most bothersome is the words he shouted. He invoked the name of Gerard Argent and said that his dream lives on. I want to ask: What dream is that? Racism? Destruction? The devastation of our country and our people? Is our collective memory so short that we would forget the atrocities committed during that time? Because I, for one, won't. But I also will not hide away while the peace that we have fought for so long to achieve and maintain is threatened. So I'm issuing a blanket statement on behalf of both of the Royal Families of the Territory of California. This sort of behavior will not be tolerated. When I fought in the War, I learned about honor, duty, and sacrifice. There is no honor in tearing open this wound. As a society, it is our duty to protect our future. And I will damned if I allow the sacrifice made by everyone who died in that War to become for nothing. If he was working with others, we will find them. It is my duty to keep the peace and I will. My family and my people will not be held hostage by hatred and bigotry."

With that, Derek turned on his heels and walked back onto the compound. Reporters shouted questions, but the Royal Families filed back into the mansion and the guards moved back into place, adding a layer of protection between them.

The speech was already being aired on every station by the time they got back into the mansion. Stiles was both annoyed and impressed by how Derek had instantly become the posterboy for the renewed unity of the territory.

They ate in silence. Derek and Stiles were forced to sit by one another. As the staff members took away the last of the plates, Stiles finally spoke up. "So now that we've been seen as a happy couple, can I go back to my kids? They're scared and they need me."

"They're fine," John said. "You are to finish the three days here with Derek. He just made a speech about togetherness. How does that make him look when immediately after that, you go off?"

"My orphanage was an important part of my life before Derek was even a blip on the radar," Stiles countered. "I'm the closest thing those kids have to a parent and right now they are terrified. So while I'm being paraded as a prop of hope to the people, I represent _actual_ hope to these kids."

"Nobody is diminishing the importance of your orphanage, Stiles," Talia said. "But right now, the threat of a Hunter resurgence under the Argent banner is very real. This is something that we cannot have. We've known of the risk for some time, which is why we arranged the marriage when we did. If we can distract the people from these influences, perhaps we can avoid another war."

"So you sacrificed mine and Derek's happiness on the off chance that you can avoid more fighting?" Stiles asked, horrified by the revelation.

Derek was most shocked by the fact that Stiles seemed to care that Derek was unhappy.

"Derek understands the importance of duty to your family," John interjected. "And you will show Alpha Hale the respect she deserves, Stiles."

"It's alright, John," Talia said. "He deserves to be unhappy about the situation. And in private, he can express his concerns, so long as he continues the outward performance."

"So you both _do_ understand the shitty situation you've dumped on both of us. You just don't care," Stiles said. "It's good to know that we're just pawns on your chessboards. It's good to know that we are so easily sacrificed."

"If you play a pawn far enough it becomes a Queen," Talia said. "Derek is a knight, but he's also a Prince. By marrying him you become a Prince, too. So instead of thinking about this in terms of what you're losing, try considering it in terms of what you'll gain."

"Respectfully, Your Majesty," Stiles said. "I'm 23. Marriage shouldn't even be a consideration for several more years."

"There's a price that comes with royalty," Talia said matter-of-factly.

"I'm only considered royal because our side just happened to win the fight. Had it gone the other way around, we all would have been executed," Stiles said. "The only thing that makes me different from the people who served us this meal is the fact that people seem to think I'm different."

"Stiles, that's enough," John said. The finality in his tone told Stiles he'd gone too far. Angrily, Stiles got up from the table and went back up to the bedroom. Derek followed shortly behind.

"I don't need you gloating right now," Stiles said.

"Good. I didn't intend to," Derek replied. "You raised some great points downstairs. You need to realize that our parents won't be dissuaded by our opposition to the marriage. But right now, I'm exhausted and want to go to bed. Let's just get a restful night's sleep and then we can deal with the repercussions of our parents' meddling tomorrow."

"Fine. I'll go to a different room," Stiles said. He didn't want to be around Derek. Sex had complicated things and made them awkward, more awkward than his distaste for the Werewolf.

"Your father said you and I have to share a room," Derek replied.

"Then I'll sleep on the floor," Stiles offered.

"Don't be stupid. We'll share the bed," Derek said. "Besides. It'll be easier for me to keep you safe if you're closer to me."

"Clothes on," Stiles said, resigning to the fact that he wasn't going to win that one.

"Those are the only clothes we have right now. They'll get all wrinkled. Strip down to your underwear at least," Derek held. "I've already seen you naked." Stiles looked weary at the idea, prompting Derek to add, "I promise I won't fuck you in your sleep."

Stiles pulled his clothes off, leaving his boxers on. He pulled the small metal chain that hung from the ceiling fan, bringing it to full blast. Derek made a face. "What?" Stiles demanded.

"The noise… I won't be able to sleep."

"And I won't be able to sleep with it being so hot in here," Stiles replied. "The fan stays on."

"You could just sleep on top of the covers!" Derek proposed.

"You _could_ just stop being such a bitch about the fan and let me have it on!" Stiles yelled back. Derek's nostrils flared, but he gave in.

The two of them crawled into the bed, trying to leave ample space between their bodies. Stiles pulled the blankets tightly over himself, leaving Derek half uncovered. Derek yanked the blanket back. "You don't get to whine about the fan and then steal all of the blankets."

"You're a Werewolf. You don't get cold!" Stiles said. "Honestly… you're just being difficult."

"And you're being a selfish prick!"

"Fuck you Derek!"

"You tried. It was the worst sex I ever had!" Derek yelled back.

The door swung open. Talia stood there, her eyes glowing red. Immediately Derek stood a little straighter. "Stop arguing!" she ordered. "You're going to wake up the entire mansion. Act like adults. And Derek… I'm very disappointed in you right now."

Those words felt like a dagger to Derek's chest. Immediately his features sunk. "I'm sorry, mom."

"You should be," she said sternly before walking out, shutting the door behind her.

Derek turned away from Stiles who felt bad. "Derek… I'm sorry," Stiles said softly.

"She's right," Derek said. "I shouldn't have let you goad me into a fight." He turned over and put his back to Stiles.

Stiles turned the light off and tried to go to sleep. He was used to having a body pillow to move up against… or a wall. But he had nothing but the empty space between him and Derek. He sighed. "I have a favor to ask," Stiles said meekly.

"What?"

"I need you to spoon with me," Stiles said. "I can't sleep unless I'm up against something."

Derek saw this as progress. "Do you want to be the big spoon or the little one?"

"Little," Stiles said. "But it doesn't mean anything. You know that, right?"

"Jesus Christ, Stiles…" Derek growled as he moved into position.

Stiles felt Derek's erection against his body. "Derek… I thought I said no sex."

Keeping his voice low, Derek stifled a snarl of annoyance. "I can't help it. If you don't like it, you can take care of it, ignore it, or just be the big spoon."

Stiles did his best to ignore it, but he could feel it throbbing against the small of his back. It was distracting. "Fine… I'll just take care of it." He moved down, fishing it out of Derek's boxers. This was the third time that day they were going to have sexual contact. Stiles quickly brought it to his mouth, figuring a blowjob would get rid of it faster than a handjob would. He wasn't sure he could handle being fucked for an hour again. "Please try not to last as long as you did last time."

"I won't. I was forcing myself to take longer just because I knew it would annoy you," Derek replied. As he felt the warm, wet mouth around his cock, he moaned. Stiles used a trick an ex-girlfriend had often used on him and brought Derek as far into the back of his throat as possible, while slowly sticking a finger into Derek's ass and finding his prostate. He was coming up off of Derek's cock, needing to breathe. The sensation of Stiles' tongue in combination with the stroking motion Stiles was using on his prostate was too much. He erupted in ropes of gooey, hot come that filled Stiles' mouth.

Stiles hated the texture of semen, but had nowhere to spit it out. He was forced to swallow it. He let Derek's cock fall from his mouth and withdrew his finger, glaring angrily at him in the darkness. "You could have warned me, you asshole…"

"I'm sorry," Derek said. "It just sort of happened. Do you want me to…" His voice trailed off as Stiles replied with a sharp "no."

"That was enough of a turnoff to ensure I won't get horny for the next few days," Stiles assured him, tucking Derek's dick back in his boxers and resuming the position they'd previously been in. His body was tired, but his mind was too busy replaying the events of the day to sleep soundly. He could tell by the way Derek was breathing that he was still too busy riding the waves of the orgasm he'd just received to sleep quite so quickly. "I have a question for you," Stiles said. "Earlier… you flinched when that woman shot her companions. But you were a soldier… why were you so bothered by it?"

"A war doesn't end just because the soldier is sent home," Derek replied. "Even if one side is declared victorious. I'm a soldier and a warrior, but I hate guns. I hate the scent of blood. And I despise seeing a life taken, even if that life was threatening me… or my fiancé."

Stiles made a small noise of acknowledgement to what Derek said. He decided to stop asking questions. It only served to humanize the enemy. Derek, however, decided that it was his turn to ask something. "You're sexually attracted to me… so why do you insist on making our relationship so difficult?"

"Because sex with you is something I can choose. I have the power to say no if I don't want it. You're hot. You know that. And if things had been different, I may have dated you… and seen where it went. But I'm being forced to marry you. We don't have a relationship. You're not my friend. You're not someone I care about. I know you feel the same way. The sex lets me draw a line in my mind," Stiles said. "It's a simple convenience of our relationship. We can provide each other pleasure. Hate and love are the opposite sides of the same coin. And in my experience, both can make sex simply phenomenal. Our sexual chemistry can provide a suitable mask for our lack of emotional intimacy."

"So you're saying you want us to fuck to pretend that we like each other more than we actually do?" Derek clarified.

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Stiles said.

Derek chuckled. "By the Moon, I think you might have just found a way for us to both survive this marriage with our sanity in-tact."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the chapter and where the story is going. Please give me feedback. It helps me write! Also, if you like this story, be sure to recommend it!


	3. Chapter 3

Derek was already awake when Stiles woke up the next morning. Stiles showered, brushed his teeth, then headed downstairs where John, Talia, Cora, and Derek were eating breakfast. Cora smiled brightly at him. "Good morning!"

Stiles nodded. "Please tell me there's coffee…"

A staff member came by and filled Stiles' mug with the strong, black liquid. He didn't add anything to it, he simply took a sip. He loved the first sip of his morning coffee. He knew it hadn't kicked in yet, but the knowledge that it soon would was enough to improve his mood. "We're travelling back to San Diego today to celebrate the park. The city wants to make the celebration bigger than it was intended to be before as a way to move past what happened yesterday," John announced.

Stiles knew that it meant he'd need to play lovey-dovey to the cameras again, but it was a small price to pay for being so close to going back home.

"Derek has a few events he needs to attend," Talia said, speaking directly to Stiles. "So we were thinking that you two could leave from the event tonight and go back to the Orphanage. If Derek could stay with you one night at the Orphanage, he would leave first thing the next morning to meet with the Generals of the Armed Forces across the Territories."

"Yeah," Stiles replied half-heartedly. "He can stay with me. I need to go shopping before I head back home, though. I promised my kids I'd bring them something… and after everything that's happened, I need to make sure that I make good on that promise."

The conversation that continued from there was awkward and shallow. It caused a pit to form in Stiles' stomach. He hated it, so he quickly scarfed down his meal before he headed back upstairs. Derek appeared shortly behind him. "Thank you for giving me permission to stay… I know how much you want to keep the orphanage separate from our relationship."

"The Alpha made a request," Stiles replied. "It's not like I could say 'no.' And honestly, whatever gets me to my kids the fastest is the path I'll take."

"That's as close to a 'you're welcome' as I'm going to get, isn't it?"

"Yup…"

* * *

The ride there had been filled mostly with the radio. Stiles noticed Cora's smirk in the back seat as her eyes moved between the two of them. "You two did it…"

"Cora!" Derek scolded.

"Oh my god you _did_!" she cackled. "It was about time you two fucked and got it out of your systems!"

"What Stiles and I do or don't do behind closed doors is none of your business, Cora," Derek said tersely.

Stiles shrunk in his seat. He knew it was physically impossible to die of embarrassment, but that didn't mean he wouldn't try.

Derek pulled the car up next to Stiles'. The windows had been smashed in and in bright red spray paint, the words "Hound Whore" were scrawled across the doors. They knew it had been likely done by the same people who interrupted the ceremony the day before, but it didn't make Stiles any less happy. Derek took out his cell phone and began snapping photos while Stiles got on the phone with his insurance agent. His policy would cover the cost to get it fixed and he could use a rental until then. "I'm sorry, Stiles," Derek said.

"I'd say it wasn't your fault, but we both know that isn't exactly true," Stiles sighed. They waited a while for an officer to show up and Stiles filed a police report. The longer the process took, the more agitated Stiles became. It was hot and he was still in yesterday's clothes and sweaty. He was in no way prepared for a second red carpet, which meant that he needed to have someone bring them clothes and help spruce them up for their second day in front of the cameras.

After the officer left, Stiles and Derek met the stylist in a nearby hotel, where they were provided with fresh clothes for them to change into, and hair and makeup professionals fixed them up before they were once again put out in front of the world's press. John had impressed upon him the fact that he needed to take a more active role in interviews, so Stiles made a conscious effort.

The line of questioning was all the same: "Can you talk about what happened yesterday?" and "How are the Royal Families dealing with the threats?" there were even a few people who wanted to know if the Argents were back. Stiles and Derek took turns answering the questions, speaking strongly as they condemned the actions that took place. At one point, different sets of reporters required Stiles and Derek to separate. Derek gave Stiles a showy kiss on the cheek. Stiles adjusted his gray bow tie and smoothed out the black button-up shirt. He approached the reporter. The moment he recognized her, that pit in his stomach from earlier came immediately back. It was the same reporter who had handed Derek's ass to him on national television. "Hello Lord Stilinski, would you mind answering a few questions for me?"

"Not at all," Stiles replied. His already severe body language became even more overwrought in the reporter's presence.

"So we all know how important your orphanage is to you," Laura began. Immediately Stiles tensed. He had a general policy of 'Say whatever you want about me, but leave my kids out of it' and didn't trust Lauren Williams to respect that policy. It was well known that she was racist against Werewolves, and Stiles expected that to play against him, since he was very publicly engaged to one of the highest-ranked Werewolves in the territory. "Yesterday was filled with such dramatic and dangerous developments. Isn't it a higher priority to be with the children placed in your care than to be here in light of these recent developments? I mean who is taking care of them if you aren't?"

Stiles' breath caught in his throat and his hand balled into a fist. He couldn't believe that she went _there_ on her very first question. _At least build up to that level of assholery,_ Stiles thought. _Don't just start out with it._ "My kids are my absolute highest priority, which is why I employ a very well-trained staff to ensure that all of their needs are being taken care of around the clock. My kids and my staff respect the fact that given my position as the son of Lord General John Stilinski and the fiancé of Prince Derek Hale, I have certain duties that will, from time-to-time, bring me away from the orphanage. And, Lauren, my safety has been at risk from the moment of my father's coronation. Never once has it impacted my ability to do my job. And I take offense to any accusation that it would."

"I certainly didn't mean to offend, My Lord," Lauren said. The cameras, of course, didn't see the sinister smirk on her face.

Stiles did, which was why he chose this moment to try and take control of the conversation. "The proper, _respectful_ honorific would be 'Your Grace'," he snapped.

Lauren and the cameramen seemed taken aback by his remark. Never before had he or his father _ever_ insisted on another person following that proper etiquette, since there wasn't a tradition for it until the post-war restructuring. "My apologies, Your Grace," she said, stammering in an attempt to find her footing. It had just become a battle of the wills she hadn't prepared to fight. "Now how did this relationship between you and Prince Derek happen? To anyone's knowledge, you two have never been seen together since your father was crowned."

"It's the 21st Century, Lauren. We have technology like Skype and texting that make a long-distance courtship much easier than it used to be," Stiles said, doing nothing to hide the fact that his patience for her line of questioning was swiftly evaporating.

"But that's the answer we hear pretty often. I'm just wondering if there isn't anything else going on behind the scenes. A union between your families is a pretty unprecedented consolidation of royal power," Lauren pointed out. "It seems to me that this is more strategic than anything else."

Stiles felt his temper soaring to heights it hadn't reached since his engagement began. He knew he had played his part convincingly enough that he'd given her no possible bait for this questioning. He also knew that how he answered this question could very easily get him back in Talia's good graces, which could only be a good thing for him. "Just because Prince Derek and I are very public figures doesn't mean that our relationship has to be. And for your information, the nature of my relationship with my fiancé is personal and I don't feel I need to defend it to muckraking leeches from the lowest cesspools of the media, like yourself. The vast majority of the People are happy for us and we'll choose to celebrate with them. But Lauren, my family and I won't give you another second of our time until you reacquaint yourself with the concepts of journalistic ethics and common decency."

He turned around and walked away, listening to Lauren ask the cameraman, "You got that, right? Please tell me you got that."

Derek stepped away from his interview and approached Stiles, whose face was reddening with rage. The fact that she questioned his ability to care for his kids tore at him and the more he circulated those words in his head, the angrier he got until his eyes were welling up from his inability to outwardly express it. Derek wrapped his arms around him. "Stiles what happened?"

"Fucking Lauren Williams…" Stiles replied. "She said that by being here, I was neglecting my kids… And then she asked me if our relationship was a farce! I completely blew my stack."

"What did you say?" Derek asked coolly.

"I defended our relationship like I'm supposed to… but she's going to run my face across her network for the next week," Stiles said, pulling away from him. "We need to be prepared for any punches she's going to pull."

All network cameras were focused on them. What was really a quick sharing of information was being interpreted by everyone as a tender moment between the couple, much to Lauren's chagrin. Derek knew this, so he leaned down. "I'm going to kiss you. It's the quickest way to make Lauren eat her words, since right now, all eyes are on us."

Stiles looked into Derek's eyes, giving permission for him to do it. Derek turned up the passion for the sake of the cameras. His arms pulled Stiles back in and he placed a kiss so tender and so deep on Stiles that if he actually felt any sense of affection for the Werewolf, his heart would have skipped a beat. But it was a performance. Beautifully staged and expertly executed. Stiles kissed back with equal vigor. Typically, he had no interest in furthering the notion that they were in love. But Lauren questioned his love for his kids. He was prepared to do whatever it took to destroy her reputation and career as a journalist. She had just made herself a very powerful enemy.

Reporters and spectators alike applauded at what they thought was a genuine loving moment.

The sun sunk lower in the sky, painting it in soft reds and purple tints, marking the need to make their way to the dais so Derek announced that they would be giving no more interviews. "Are you sure you're going to be alright?" Derek asked smelling salt from tears rolling down Stiles' cheeks. He quickly pulled them into an alcove, away from cameras and spectators.

More tears fell down his face. "She questioned my ability to look after my kids, Derek… and she's right! I've been saying for the past 24 hours that I need to get home to be with them… and then she just said it on national TV."

"Don't let her get into your head, Stiles. We just need to get through this ceremony and then I'll take you home and you can see them," Derek said. And in a move that would have angered Stiles any other time, Derek wiped the tears from his face and hugged him. They stayed there until Stiles could compose himself, Derek uttering reassurances that Stiles wasn't a bad caretaker and that Lauren would get what was coming to her. When they finally walked up to the dais, the remaining members of the Royal Families were waiting for them to get started. Talia addressed the people gathered, but Stiles paid no attention. Instead, he leaned over to Derek. "Why did you console me back there? Even after there weren't any cameras…" he whispered.

Derek cocked his head. "Because you were in pain and it was the right thing to do, Stiles. We agree on the fact that we don't personally want to marry one another. But that doesn't mean I can't be there for you when I see you need someone, just because a camera isn't there to catch it. We can disagree and fight and bicker all we want, but at the end of the day we're still people and deserve to be treated as such… especially when we're feeling low."

Stiles smirked. "It's a shame I don't like you, Derek… you'd make a great boyfriend for someone who appreciated you."

Despite the dig, Derek returned the smirk. He knew this was Stiles' way of indicating that, at least for now, he had moved past the Lauren Williams debacle. "And if you weren't such a stubborn, inconsiderate asshole then… well, I guess you would be someone else entirely," he replied with a wink. They were less concerned about people hearing what they said thanks to Talia's voice booming from the speakers in front of them. Any Werewolves who happened to hear it would be getting snippets completely out of context and wouldn't know whether or not this was their version of flirtatious banter. The smiles on their faces did much to help further confuse any prying ears and eyes.

They weren't required to speak at this event, which made Stiles happy. And soon, they heard Talia announce that fireworks would soon be showing over the San Diego Bay and asked that they'd all move to that part of the city. The Royal Families went first, followed by everyone else.

Since the park wasn't too far from the bay, it didn't require more than a short walk. Once everyone was assembled, Stiles saw the barge move into place. Soon, the show began. Stiles always loved fireworks. He considered it a greatly unappreciated art form. They enthralled him and always had. So it took him until halfway through the display to realize that his fiancé was no longer standing by his side. He looked around. "Where's Derek?" he asked Cora.

"I think he said something about going to the car," she replied.

Stiles narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

Cora shrugged. "Maybe he's tired."

"I'm going to go check on him," Stiles said and moved around the crowd. Posted members of the Guard eyed him carefully. Stiles knew who they were, though most people believed them to be normal spectators. When he got to the parking lot, it took him a moment to find their car, but his attention was momentarily diverted by the reflection of the fireworks in the windshields and hoods of the cars around him. He took one last look at the sky as his fingers lightly hovered over the door handle. A particularly beautiful set exploded before he pulled the door open and hopped in the car. It was then that he noticed that Derek had his hands firmly pressed over his ears, and his eyes squeezed tightly shut as tears streamed down his face. His eyes were glowing bright blue and he seemed to be caught somewhere between shifts.

"Derek? What's wrong?"

The Werewolf shook his head before trying to hide his face away from Stiles. "Please go away," he sobbed. "I don't want to talk to you."

"Did I say something?" Stiles asked, trying to think through what had happened that night and how much easier their interactions had been that day in comparison to the brick wall he was receiving now.

"No," Derek managed.

"Tell me what's wrong, then," Stiles insisted. "Derek you're scaring me…"

"The bombs…" Derek cried softly. "Tell them to call off the bombs… Please just make it stop… No more bombs…"

"What bombs?" Stiles asked before he realized. "The fireworks… they remind you of the War…

Derek, listen to my voice… focus on me. I'm going to start the car and we're going to drive away from here… but I need you to breathe."

Derek nodded. "Are we leaving the war zone?" he looked over at Stiles, his eyes filled with tears, pain, and terror.

"Yeah," Stiles replied, trying to figure out what he would do for one of his kids. Normally, he'd hug them tightly, since that released a burst of oxytocin. Derek was between shifts, and Stiles didn't know if he'd startle from it so he brought the engine to life and tried to put as much distance between them and the fireworks as possible. It wasn't until they were several miles down Interstate 5, that Derek was able to finally shift back to human. He rested his head against the seat. "Are you alright?" Stiles asked. Derek nodded. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Derek nodded. "It was like I was back on the front lines again… The Argents would surround homes of Werewolves and Werewolf supporters in mountain ash and place bombs inside them. I couldn't help them. I heard their screams. I smelt them burning. I could taste their death in the air. Every single one of them. I had to sit there and feel them die with each one of my senses and I couldn't do one fucking thing to help them."

"Why would your mother plan a fireworks display if she knew it bothered you?" Stiles asked, entirely shocked by Talia's callousness.

"Nobody knows," Derek admitted. "You're the first person I've ever told. My family all saw me as the hero who fought on the front lines. Your father was so proud of me. How could I tell them that I'm not the brave warrior they think I am? How could I tell them that I don't deserve my honor as Knight? I couldn't even handle a stupid fireworks display without running to the car like a scared puppy."

"We all have our demons, Derek. And I think it's far more heroic to face them. You're the prince of California. One day, you'll be the Alpha. Do you know what you could do for other soldiers who are suffering just like you are?" Stiles said. "At least once a week, one of my kids wakes up with nightmares screaming for parents that will never be there to comfort them. You can get help, Derek."

"My pain is just that," Derek said. "Mine." He sniffled as he wiped the tears away from his face. "I'm sorry you saw me like this."

Stiles was shocked at just how badly he wanted to evade the topic of help. "You've seen me worse," Stiles said. "Remember the first time we met?"

"At the Coronation Ball?" Derek asked.

"Yeah," Stiles laughed. "My dad didn't know that I swapped the labels on a couple of bottles of sparkling grape juice and wine."

Derek chuckled as he remembered. "You weren't just drunk. You were fucking toasted."

"You came up to me and said 'Your father is going to kill you,' and you helped me up to my room," Stiles said. "I don't think I would have made it up the stairs in the mansion if you hadn't carried me."

"It didn't stop you from drinking more, though," Derek added.

"I was only 13. It was the first time I ever had alcohol and I've never been a quitter," Stiles laughed.

"Except that you spilled about a third of the bottle on my pants. You're lucky that I was a bit smaller then and could fit in your clothes," Derek added. "And you were just as obnoxious then as you are now."

"What do you mean?" Stiles asked. "I passed out after that. I didn't see you again until our parents told us about the arrangement."

Derek looked shocked. "Oh my God," he whispered. "You don't remember?"

"Yeah I do," Stiles said. "I just told you what happened."

"No you didn't," Derek said. "After you spilled your drink on me, you tried to help me clean it up, but your hand accidentally touched my dick and then you kissed me."

Stiles shook his head. "You're a liar. There's no fucking way."

"You're right," Derek said. "It wasn't so much a kiss as you ran your tongue across my lips and my cheek and told me how hot you thought I was. You then asked me to spend the night with you. You mumbled something about pillows and pouted. I thought you would cry if I said no, so I cuddled with you. And after you fell asleep, I left."

"You're delusional," Stiles said, taking the exit to get to his orphanage. There was a Toys-R-Us nearby that he could stop at to load up on presents for his kids. "There's no way that happened. You have to be pulling my leg."

"I swear I'm not, Stiles," Derek said. "Why do you think that, despite the fact that you and I don't like each other and don't actually want to get married, I've fought so hard to at least _try_."

"Because your Alpha ordered you to," Stiles replied. "It's not rocket science."

Derek shook his head. "Whether my mom ordered me to or not, I would have done it. Because I know that somewhere inside you is still that 13 year-old boy who threw caution to the wind. You liked me at one time… and I kind of liked you, too. I hoped that maybe we could learn to like each other again."

"I was drunk, Derek," Stiles said. "I was a young, hormonal teenager. You just happened to be something pretty that caught my eye. And besides, after that, I fell in love… I fell hard and I fell fast for a girl that I wanted to marry… a girl I had to dump when _our_ relationship was arranged."

"What was her name?" Derek asked.

"Lydia," Stiles said. "She was the love of my life. I had been planning on proposing to her. But then our parents arranged our marriage. So instead of giving her a ring, I broke her heart."

"I'm sorry," Derek said softly. "It's no wonder you hate me so much. I represent everything you gave up."

Stiles pulled into the parking lot. The store was technically closed, but they were willing to open their doors for him. He got out of the car and Derek followed. This conversation had turned painful and he didn't wish to continue it any further. Derek followed Stiles up and down the aisles as he picked out toys and books for each of his kids, as he knew exactly what each child would want.

When they got to the checkout counter, Derek quickly pulled out his credit card. "They're my kids, Derek," Stiles said. "It's my responsibility to provide for them, not yours. And not anyone else's."

"It's the least I can do after the help you gave me," Derek replied, swiping the card before Stiles could swipe his. Though Derek was only trying to be helpful, Stiles didn't see it that way. He was royally pissed off and remained silent for the rest of the drive to the orphanage.

It was late when he got in, but Scott and Kira were sitting in the den watching TV with Ana. "You should be in bed, little one," Stiles said.

Ana's head whipped around and her eyes lit up. "STILES!" she exclaimed running over to him, jumping in his arms. "I thought you weren't going to come back!"

"Are you kidding?" Stiles asked, spinning her around in a hug. "I'd never not come back for you."

Ana hugged Stiles' neck for several minutes. "I'm glad you're home. Will you make me a sandwich?"

"You little sneak!" Kira teased. "You just had one!"

"But Stiles didn't make it for me so it doesn't count!" Ana countered.

"If Ms. Kira made you a sandwich, then you don't get another one. I'll make you one tomorrow. Now go to bed. When you wake up, there will be a present for you," Stiles said.

Ana looked over at Derek who was standing in the doorway. "Oh! Hi!" she said waving her hadn enthusiastically.

"Hi," Derek replied smiling back at her as he returned the wave.

Ana pushed away from Stiles a bit and pointed. "Stiles, is he… the douche?"

"Yeah," Stiles replied laughing. "He's the douche. Now go to bed."

"I love you, Stiles," Ana said before wriggling out of Stiles' arms and running upstairs to the dormitories.

"Thank you for watching them," Stiles said to Scott and Kira.

"It's an honor to meet you, Prince Derek," Kira said.

"The honor is all mine… and just call me Derek," he replied, turning to Scott, holding out his hand to shake it. "It's an honor to finally meet the True Alpha of this generation."

Scott returned Derek's handshake before letting his arm snake around Kira's waist. "We're going to go head out and give you two some privacy."

"You can stay tonight if you'd like," Stiles said.

"No, we don't want to intrude. Goodnight," Kira said, hugging Stiles before Scott did the same. Stiles turned and headed upstairs, leaving Derek to awkwardly follow him as Scott and Kira shut the door behind them.

When they were finally in Stiles' room, Derek asked, "Okay what's wrong now? You and I actually had a pretty good day, all things considered."

"Yeah, we did. Then you went and fucked it up!" Stiles replied. "It's like you can't help yourself. You have a drive that compels you to fuck things up in my life."

"What did I do?" Derek asked.

"These are _my_ kids! They are _my _responsibility. Not yours. I told you to let me pay for the gifts and you didn't!"

"Let me get this straight… you're mad because I swiped my credit card first?" Derek asked. "Mark it down as an in-kind donation if it's really that big of a deal."

"No!" Stiles snapped. "It's not just that! I'm mad because everything I love… everything that's important to me… you seem hell-bent on taking away from me!"

"I'm not trying to take anything away from you, Stiles," Derek said softly. "Least of all these kids."

"But I see how this ends up going, Derek. At first, I'm allowed to stay here, but when questions start getting raised, you and I are forced to move in together. Then I'm permitted to spend less and less time with my kids until I'm not allowed to spend time with them at all. But you get to do whatever you want and go wherever you want because you're the Prince and your career and ambitions are more important than the 34 kids in my care… the only people I really and truly love."

"It's not true, Stiles," Derek insisted. "I won't let that happen."

Stiles stripped down to his underwear and crawled into the bed. "Why would it matter to you anyway? It's not like your life will be affected in the slightest."

Derek did the same, but he moved incredibly close to Stiles, staring into his eyes, one hand on the human's chest. "Because I saw the way your eyes lit up when you held that little girl downstairs. And I know that I'll never make your eyes shine that brightly no matter how hard I try. You'll never love me as much you love the kids."

"You're right," Stiles said. "I'll never love you."

Derek listened for a change in Stiles' heart rate that would tell him that Stiles was lying. He didn't hear it. Just like that, the progress they had made was gone. One step forward and two steps back. "Thank you for helping me tonight," he said before settling in to sleep.

"You helped me earlier. We're even," Stiles replied dismissively. He grabbed his body pillow and clung tightly to it, not needing Derek to help him sleep.

* * *

**Author's Note:** So my muse was a little extra active on this story, thanks to all the feedback. Let me know what you thought of this chapter, also if you have any questions. I'll do my best to answer them without spoiling things!


	4. Chapter 4

Derek was gone when Stiles woke up. The only thing on the side of the bed he'd slept in was a small piece of paper with one simple word on it: "Sorry." Stiles turned on the TV, wanting some noise as he got his day off to a start.

As the news station came back from commercial break, the reporter immediately spoke his name, placing his photo in one of those little frames to the left of the screen. "Shots fired at a royal dedication ceremony… and not by the attacker. His Grace, Lord Stanisław 'Stiles' Stilinski, had some choice words for Fox News Anchor Lauren Williams after she questioned the legitimacy of his engagement to the Werewolf Prince of California, Sir Derek Hale." The screen cut to the sound bite of Stiles losing his temper. Color drained from his face. The reporter came back into the frame. "Williams has responded by saying _If the Royal Families had nothing to hide, then there wouldn't be so much hostility to this line of questioning. And quite frankly given the way he went off, I wouldn't be surprised if we find out that he has been bitten by Queen Talia and all of this Human/Werewolf cooperation that we're hearing about is really just a sham. If he is a newly-turned Beta, he should not be around kids. He simply poses too much of a danger._" Stiles felt his blood once again begin to boil. "Both Royal Families have vehemently denied these allegations. Queen Talia called them 'borderline treasonous' while Lord John Stilinski referred to them as 'blatant slanderous lies'. So I'm going to ask you guys… what do you think?"

Stiles then watched, slack-jawed as a panel of people debated the validity of Lauren's claim. Most of them agreed it was untrue, except one who said there was just no way to tell. A knock at his door pulled his attention to the way these animals were discussing his private life as if he weren't a real person who had to endure it. "Who is it?" Stiles asked, knowing that it had to be one of the older kids. The younger kids usually just barged in and hopped on the bed.

"Isaac," called the voice on the other side.

Stiles called back that he needed to pull on some more appropriate clothes. He found a tee-shirt and a pair of jeans and quickly threw them on before answering the door. Isaac's eyes remained focused on a spot on the floor. His hands were buried deep in his pockets and Stiles could tell he was holding back tears. "Isaac? Buddy what's wrong?" Stiles asked.

"I saw what they're saying about you on the news," he replied. "About you being a Werewolf and whatever."

"You know it's not true, right?"

"Yeah. That Lauren Williams person is a bitch," Isaac said. Stiles chuckled, surprised to hear him use such strong language. Normally he didn't tolerate profanity from his older kids, as it set a bad example for the younger ones, but he was fond of Isaac and since it was just the two of them and Isaac's assessment of the situation was correct, he decided to let it go. "But my dad might believe it. He could use it as ammo to try and get custody back again."

"A court would have me try and pass the Mountain Ash test and I would. The claims made against me would be dropped and your father's history would be more than enough to keep him away from you," Stiles said. "The first time I ever met you, I made you a promise. Do you remember what it was?"

"You said you'd never let me get hurt again," Isaac mumbled.

"I never break a promise," Stiles said. "I'm going to find you parents who love you and cherish you… parents who consider it an honor to call you their son. And I'm going to make sure to do it before you age out of the system."

"I keep telling you nobody's going to want me," Isaac said, continuing to stare at the same spot on the floor. "I'm 16. I'm un-adoptable. Stop wasting your time."

Stiles sighed. Isaac always retreated to this nihilistic viewpoint whenever he had one of his nightmares. "Which one?"

"The freezer," Isaac confirmed.

Stiles pulled Isaac into a tight hug. "I'm so sorry, kiddo," he whispered. "Let's go have some breakfast and we'll talk about it, alright?"

Isaac was the only one of his kids who wasn't actually an orphan. His father was still alive, though Stiles firmly believed there was a special place in Hell for him when he _did_ finally kick the bucket. Most of the other kids had already eaten and were playing with the toys that had been bought the day before. They both ate cereal in silence. Ana burst in, carrying a doll. "Thank you so much, Stiles! I love her!"

"You're welcome, Ana," Stiles replied. "But can you give me an Isaac a few minutes?" Ana seemed frustrated by being kicked out of the kitchen, but Stiles prided himself on being able to offer individual attention to his children when they needed it. Ana sulked out of the room, leaving Stiles and Isaac alone.

"What do I do if you can't keep your promise?" Isaac asked. "I'm not stupid. I know that the likelihood of me finding a family isn't high. I also know that when kids age out of the system, they don't fare well."

"Look at me," Stiles commanded. Isaac had a difficult time with eye contact. But Stiles needed him to see it in his eyes how dedicated he was to keeping his promise. "I'm serious. Look at me." Isaac lifted his head slightly, just enough to look into Stiles' eyes. I _will_ find you a family that loves you, Isaac. There's actually a family that's interested in adopting you right now. I'm just trying to make sure that they're safe for you before I arrange a meeting."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Isaac asked.

"I didn't want to give you false hope," he replied. "But they seem really serious."

* * *

Several weeks passed in which Stiles didn't have to even look at Derek Hale, let alone think about him. His life was running in accordance with his plans and he could almost convince himself he wasn't engaged. Unfortunately reality caught up with him, as reality tends to do. A phone call from his father told him he had to meet at the Hale estate outside of San Diego. He had no choice.

As he pulled his car up to the estate, he became increasingly unhappy. Guards showed him to a large room where Talia, Derek, and his father were all seated. "His Grace, Lord 'Stiles' Stilinski," the guard announced.

"Stiles," Talia said warmly. "We're so glad you joined us."

"I wasn't given much of a choice, Your Majesty," Stiles replied.

Talia pretended to ignore the comment and opened a book filled with photographs. "The wedding is only a few months away. Press is going to begin to ramp up about it. And thanks to Lauren Williams, there will be several who are going to be looking for something out of the ordinary," she said, cutting straight to business.

"I thought I pretty effectively shut her down," Stiles replied.

"The way you handled that situation was ideal, actually," John interjected. "We're both very proud of you."

"And in the meantime, I've taken care of all the planning for the wedding," Talia added.

"I told her that you and I didn't care if there was a wedding at all, so yeah…" Derek said, bringing a glass of water to his lips.

"There are just a few details we need your input on, but other than that, it has all been finished," Talia said.

"But there's another issue we need to deal with," John added.

"I've played my part," Stiles said defensively.

"You have," Talia said. "It's not about that. You two haven't spoken in two weeks. We can't add any fuel to the fire. We need you to move in together, to give a show of solidarity and help squash the stories feeding off of Ms. Williams. So as an early wedding present, I'm giving you two the Salinas mansion. You can move in immediately."

"No!" Stiles and Derek both shouted at the same time.

John looked over at the Alpha. "Holy shit, Talia," he chuckled. "We finally got them to agree on something."

"I'm sorry, Derek, but we can't move you into the Beacon Hills mansion. Too much change all at once would upset Laura," Talia said.

"If we have to live together, then we have to live together," Derek said. "But I promised Stiles I wouldn't take him away from his kids. I'll move into the orphanage."

"You most certainly will not!" Stiles protested. "I'm close to finding placement for a kid whose father has been suing me for years. You moving into the orphanage could get me shut down. I would first need massive background-checks and clearances... It could take months. Years, even!"

"He's the Prince of California, a Knight, and the second-highest ranked Military official in the Territory, Stiles," John said. "He has the highest possible clearance allowed after the Great Restructuring."

"We can get whatever paperwork needed," Talia assured him. "But if you won't leave the Orphanage, then he needs to move in with you."

"But…" Stiles began to protest, but John cut him off.

"In less than three months, you're going to be walking down the aisle. If they aren't already, people will be asking questions if you two are living on opposite ends of the Territory!" Stiles cut his father a rude glare. "I'm serious, Stiles. You two are about to become roommates."

* * *

"Is the Douche going to be living with us?" Ana asked as Derek carried his belongings up to the bedroom he would be sharing with Stiles.

Stiles' arms were crossed and a disapproving glower seemed to be permanently affixed to his face. He had refused to help Derek in any way. "Yep. The Douche is going to be living with us."

"But he's your Prince," Ana said. "You should be happy."

"Oh no. He's _your_ Prince," Stiles corrected. "He's _my_ pain in the ass."

"Stiles you said a bad word," Ana scolded. "You should apologize."

"You're right," Stiles admitted. "I'm sorry." He loved Ana and her view on life.

"So what do we call him?" she asked. "We call you Stiles, but we call everyone else 'mister' or 'miss.' Is he 'Mr. Douche?'"

"Yes, Ana," Stiles said, a smile finally cracking his severe expression. "You can call him 'Mr. Douche.'" Ana lost interest in watching Derek move his belongings in, so she ran off. Isaac turned the corner. "Hey! How did the meeting go with the family?" Stiles asked him.

"They aren't going to adopt me," Isaac replied.

"What happened?" Stiles asked.

"Nobody wants a kid who can't even look them in the eye," Isaac replied.

"We were working on that," Stiles said.

"No. _You_ were working on that. _I_ was just going along with it because I knew you'd be happy if I did," Isaac admitted.

"Isaac, there's only so much I can do to help you in this situation. You've got to do some of the work yourself," Stiles told him. "Our placement criteria are already so rigorous that maybe a tenth of the parents who apply even make it to the point where they can possibly get matched to a child."

"I already know this, Stiles," Isaac grumbled.

"Okay then. Stop sabotaging yourself!" Stiles said.

"I will if you will," Isaac said before walking away.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Stiles asked.

Isaac turned around and glanced at Derek momentarily before he shrugged and headed outside.

Stiles went upstairs to see how the move-in process was coming along. Derek's belongings were strewn throughout Stiles' bedroom. He felt his chest tightening anxiously. "You've been at this for hours. Why isn't this stuff put away?"

Derek rolled his eyes and sighed. "The sheer lack of help aside, I figured that if I touched your things, you'd yell and scream about how I fuck up the shit in your life and I'd spend the next week getting the cold shoulder from you."

Stiles smirked. "I guess you figured correctly, then."

Derek shook his head. "What did I do to deserve _this_ for the rest of my life?"

"I think you mean _my_ life," Stiles replied. "You're a Werewolf, remember? You'll outlive me, then you can spend the remainder of your life with someone you actually like."

"Look at you thinking with a glass-half-full mentality," Derek snickered.

"I'll clear some room in the dresser for you," Stiles said, not finding his comment funny.

"How generous."

"Don't be an asshole."

"It's amazing that I feel so welcome in my fiancé's home," Derek said.

"You can take your passive-aggressive tone and shove it up your ass," Stiles growled.

"Do you always use such colorful language in the presence of children?"

"Go fuck yourself, Derek. None of my kids can hear it," Stiles said. "And how _fucking _dare you? Let me tell you something. I'll even speak slowly so it gets through your thick Werewolf skull. This place is _mine_. I call the shots. All I try to do is give these kids what they deserve. If you do anything to fuck this up…"

Derek stepped forward. "What will you do, Stiles? What could you possibly do to me?"

"I'll come clean about everything," Stiles vowed.

Derek's eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't."

"Just fucking try me," Stiles said. The two of them stared each other down for several minutes before Derek leaned forward and kissed Stiles. Stiles was shocked, at first by what was happening, but quickly pushed Derek away from him. "What the fuck? I threaten you and then you kiss me?"

Derek scowled. "Did I misread a signal?"

"Yeah. How did any of that say 'kiss me' to you?"

"Because the last time we were arguing that badly I ended up getting a pretty amazing blowjob from my fiancé," Derek said. "I was kind of hoping that might happen again."

"You creep!" Stiles retorted. "What makes you think I would drop to my knees and suck your dick after that?"

"Because the tension is rolling off of you," Derek argued. "You want to fuck… hard. I can smell it on you."

"You're a piece of work, you know that."

Derek shoved Stiles hard, forcing him to fall backwards on the bed. As Stiles tried to get up to fight back, Derek crawled on top of him. He placed his hand over Stiles' heart. "It's racing right now. Just admit that you want it."

Stiles glared defiantly at Derek. He didn't want to give Derek the satisfaction of hearing him say those words. But he couldn't deny that Derek was right. He hadn't had release since the day at the Hale mansion and his body ached for it. After several minutes of feeling Derek grinding against him, Stiles finally said, "Take off your clothes." Derek grinned, but obeyed as Stiles did the same. Stiles reached into his bedside table and pulled out a bottle of lube. Derek went to grab it from him, but Stiles refused to allow it. "Not this time."

"If you're going to pull the same shit you did last time, it's not going to happen," Derek said. "It hurt way too much."

"Don't worry," Stiles assured. "I'm not going to hurt you." Derek climbed off of Stiles and lied down on his back as Stiles lifted his legs and began prepping him. When he began pushing into Derek, he went slowly, wanting to keep his promise. Their sex would eventually be rough and primal, the way both of them wanted it, but Stiles wanted to do to Derek what had been done to him the last time. That required a little work.

Once he was all the way inside, Stiles slowly worked up his pace. Derek moaned. "Who knew you had skill?" he teased. Though he lacked the supernatural powers Derek had, Stiles was still able to read the Werewolf's facial expressions and adjust his stride accordingly. He reached down and took Derek's cock in his hand, lightly caressing it. It throbbed in his grip as Derek's hips bucked as Stiles worked him to the very brink of an orgasm. "I'm close already," Derek confessed. Stiles quickly pulled out of him and took his hand away from Derek's cock. Derek bucked his hips in frustration and let out a whimper that Stiles would have thought almost pitiful if he hadn't found it so fucking sexy.

He let Derek wind down before going again, pushing back into him. This time, he was a bit more animalistic. He leaned down, biting on Derek's collarbone before letting his tongue trace along Derek's chest, then sucked on the pert nipple. His fingers once again grasped Derek's cock and pumped him up to edge, though not letting him come.

"FUCK!" he bellowed.

"Keep your voice down. There are kids in this building!" Stiles hissed angrily.

"Just… let me come!" Derek begged.

"Not yet," Stiles said.

"This is payback for last time, isn't it?" Derek asked as Stiles began working him up again. "If you don't let me come this time, I'll finish myself."

"And deny your fiancé the pleasure of bringing you to orgasm?" Stiles asked.

"But you don't actually care about me _or_ my pleasure," Derek pointed out.

"You're right," Stiles said. "I just love to see that look on your face when you don't get what you want. But if you're going to pout about it, then fine." Stiles pushed back into Derek and worked both of them past the point of no return. Stiles shot deep into Derek, but Derek's load splattered itself across Stiles' chest, neck, and face. "That's gross," Stiles grimaced as he felt it begin to slide down his body.

Derek was still riding the waves of his pleasure, but he leaned up, licking it off Stiles' skin. "That was pretty good."

* * *

Derek didn't have time to adjust to the pace of life within the walls of the Orphanage. Since school was in full swing, much of Stiles' time was devoted to ensuring the kids' grades didn't slip while also doing everything he could to get them adopted. Derek still had his own royal duties to attend to. They didn't share a bed often, and when they did, they were thoroughly exhausted from the sex they had after arguing.

The holiday season came and went. Though Stiles tried, it was difficult to make an orphanage any semblance of "cheerful" during the Christmas season. But each of his kids had several things to unwrap on Christmas morning.

Since he managed to escape Christmas, he was required to spend New Year's with the Hales. The wedding day was to be on the following full moon, which would happen on January 28th. It was the Wolf Moon, and therefore a sacred holiday to the Hale family, marking change and restructuring within the Pack. Though Stiles was to remain human, after marrying Derek, he would be considered a member of the Hale pack.

As he sat in his bed, going over the final preparations for the wedding that Talia insisted he give his approval on, Stiles turned on the TV. There was another live-from-the-red-carpet interview with the Royals of California, as a museum dedicated to the history of Werewolves was being opened.

Cora was even interviewed, which was strange, considering how much Talia wanted to keep her away from reporters. "How do you feel about the big event coming up for your family? It's just a few weeks away now, right?"

"Yeah, but who doesn't like a wedding?" Cora replied simply, flashing her smile.

Talia was interviewed, too, expressing for the millionth time how excited she was about her son marrying Stiles.

Then Derek came on the screen. "So how are the wedding preparations going?"

"They're going great, actually! They're almost done."

"And how is your fiancé?" she asked.

"He's doing well. He's at home right now with his kids," Derek looked at the camera and waved. "Hello, my prince! I wish I was home with you!"

The reporter swooned. "That's so great! You two seem like the happiest couple who have ever lived. Do you two ever fight or do you just continue to be so sickeningly in love?" she teased.

Derek flashed his smile. "Like every couple, we fight, of course. A few days ago, we actually argued over floral compositions. Stiles wanted lavender, I wanted hydrangeas. Yeah, those are the fights we have."

"Aww!" the reporter exclaimed. "So what was the verdict?"

"There are going to be lavender flowers at our wedding," Derek laughed. "What can I say? I just want him to be happy."

The reporter laughed with him. "Well I wish you all the best and thanks so much for taking the time to talk with us!" she said before signing off.

Stiles was furious. That argument never happened. Well, they certainly argued, but it was about how much time Stiles would need to devote to Royal Duties once the wedding happened, considering he would be crowned as a Prince. Stiles tried to explain that there was a reason that he and his father didn't take the King/Prince title before. There wasn't a tradition for it among humans in the United States. It was a country founded on the rejection of a King and a monarchy and the humans wouldn't have accepted it.

"_They accepted __**us**__," Derek had reminded him. "The humans call my mother Queen and call me Prince."_

"_And what makes us any better than they are? Before the War and the Great Restructuring, my dad was just a Sheriff. I was just some random hyperactive kid. There was nothing remarkable about any of us. But because of the choices and decisions he made during the war, suddenly we're royalty?" Stiles had asked._

"_Your argument makes no sense because you have the exact same rank as me but with a different title! Your father has the exact same rank as my mother, but you just call it something different. You're a royal. You just don't call yourself one. Now you will. And as such, there will be things you'll have to do," Derek shot back._

"_You promised me that you wouldn't take me away from my kids," Stiles had replied. Tears were filling his eyes._

Stiles shook that memory from his head. That had been their worst fight to date. It had only been a few days ago, and then Derek… said _that_ on TV? He tried to sleep, but Derek's words kept playing in his head. He was downstairs drinking a glass of water when Derek came home. "You really outdid yourself in your latest interview, Derek," Stiles said softly as he set his glass down.

Derek sighed and shook his head. He was exhausted and didn't want to fight. That didn't stop him from saying what was on his mind. "Well, because unlike you, I care about our families' public image!"

"If I didn't care, I would have called off the wedding by now," Stiles replied. "The fact that you live here and we're still engaged is a testament to the fact that I care about _my_ family's image. I don't give a rat's ass about yours."

"Why would you care at all?" Derek asked. "Because it's so much easier to hide away in your precious little orphanage than to face life outside these walls! You insist on spending so much time with your kids because being an adult in the real world is too difficult for you!"

Stiles knew that Derek was searching for whatever hurtful thing he could say and decided to return the favor. "At least I'm not scared shitless by some lousy fucking fireworks!"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Derek demanded. Stiles had been the one who encouraged him to seek treatment for his PTSD. He was the one who told Derek that it wasn't anything to be ashamed of, that he could turn his fears into a way to help others.

"I hate you, Derek," Stiles said. "You think that eventually I'll come to like you like I did when I was 13, but you're wrong. I fucking hate you and our marriage isn't going to change that. Our marriage isn't going to change anything between us."

"I'd rather eat wolf's bane than be stuck with you for the rest of your life, you pompous, arrogant, two-faced, selfish, hypocritical asshole!" Derek shot back.

"I'm two-faced? A hypocrite? Enjoy the fucking lavender place settings at our fucking wedding, you half-breed piece of shit!" Stiles yelled, heading up the stairs. "I want you out of this place by sunrise."

"That's not going to happen," Derek said, following Stiles upstairs.

Stiles ran into the bedroom, rummaging through his dresser, looking for a small box. He quickly located it as Derek tried to charge into the room. Stiles reached into the box, grabbing a handful of shimmering black dust and threw it into the doorway. It immediately created a line, blocking Derek from entering. "Have fun trying to come to bed with a Mountain Ash line blocking you from entering."

Derek didn't even try to pass it, he knew he couldn't. "Where did you get that?"

"It doesn't matter. I want you gone."

"I guess I'll see you on our wedding day, asshole," Derek snarled as he headed back downstairs. Though he was tempted to, he didn't slam the door. He didn't want to wake the kids. He figured they shouldn't have to suffer for their caretaker's lack of social skills.

* * *

Stiles tried to get ahold of Derek the next day. He didn't really sleep. It didn't matter how angry he had been at Derek, he knew that what he'd said was wrong. The fight kept running through his head, like a mental PSA, reminding him of what a shitty human being he could be sometimes.

Looking up from a file for potential parents looking at adopting Ana, he pinched the bridge of his nose and looked over to check his phone. There was nothing. No missed calls or texts. He tapped out another message. _Please come back so we can talk this out._ Stiles went back to his file. The candidates were perfect. They were everything he could hope in a prospective home for one of his children. He just wished he were half as successful with his relationship as he was with placing his kids in good homes.

_You could be_, a voice in his head nagged. _Just get over your hatred for him_. The answer was right there and it seemed so simple on the surface. But he had nothing in common with the Prince. Derek was nothing more than a figurehead. He served no useful function in society other than to have a pretty face that made well-worded speeches whenever necessary. Meanwhile, Stiles had to balance each child's needs, a large staff, bills, lawsuits, and now royal duties. He didn't have time for Derek or the slew of problems that Derek's increased presence in his life would bring. _But that doesn't mean you have to be an ass_.

He heard the sound of the kids coming inside, the bus having just dropped them all off from school. Stiles made it a point to be available to help them all with homework. His degree had been in social work, but Stiles paid attention in his other courses and had a wide array of knowledge and could usually explain things to his kids. If not, there was always Google. When homework was done, it was time for dinner. Stiles stayed up a bit, hoping that maybe Derek would decide to come back, but as the clock reached midnight, he resigned himself to the fact that it wouldn't happen. Not that he blamed Derek.

The alarm woke everyone out of a dead sleep. A cold chill ran through Stiles. That wasn't a fire alarm he was hearing. He didn't have time to put on clothes. He ran out, his first thoughts being the safety of his children. Staff members were already doing their job of securing the kids in the dormitories. A loud smashing could be heard downstairs. "Headcount?" Stiles demanded.

"We're missing one," someone said.

"Fuck," Stiles muttered. He ran into his room, throwing on clothes and running downstairs as he heard a scream. "STILES!" He knew that voice. "Stiles help me!"

He rounded the corner to find two men dressed in all black slowly approaching Ana, who was crying. "Leave her alone!" Derek's voice bellowed. He shifted, his eyes glowing an ominous blue. Stiles tried to move closer to Ana. He could make out what looked like Japanese Oni masks on the intruders.

"Stiles I'm scared!" Ana cried.

"I'm right here!" Stiles told her. One of the intruders pulled out a katana and headed toward Ana. Derek tossed him over the furniture.

"I said to leave her alone!" Derek roared. The other intruder took his eyes of Ana, so Stiles quickly swooped in and picked her up, holding her closely to him. She clutched his shirt as tears ran down her face.

"It's alright, Ana," Stiles whispered. "I've got you."

One of the staff members carefully came downstairs, trying to ensure that Stiles was alright. Stiles saw her and quickly handed Ana to her. "I'll be right back for you. Go with Melanie…"

Stiles watched as the second intruder slashed Derek's chest with the katana. He ran into an adjoining room and grabbed a baseball bat that was often used by the kids to play a round of ball on the expansive land the orphanage sat on. Hurrying back into the room, he saw that Derek was taking slash after slash. The scraps of shirt that were left were drenched in blood, but Derek didn't give up. He kept fighting, taking more cuts, more blows. There was something not right going on. He knew that Derek should be able to take these men out. Then he realized, there was something on the blades weakening Derek. If he didn't help, Derek could die.

Stiles rushed forward. He managed to lay one powerful swing into one intruder's chest. He heard several ribs crack and the intruder doubled over. Derek was able to quickly overpower the remaining intruder, slamming his head into the wall, effectively knocking him out. Derek stumbled backwards. "Derek?" Stiles asked, rushing to his side.

"The blades," Derek grunted. "They were laced with something."

Police officers burst in. Stiles pointed to the men on the floor. "We need an ambulance immediately," he told them. He turned to Derek. "I've got you."

"I need to sit down," Derek managed.

Stiles helped him over to a chair. "Stay awake, Derek," he said. The ambulance arrived in minutes. They deemed it to be wolf's bane poisoning, which automatically meant that the intruders were facing a death sentence.

"We're going to need to make one small incision. That will let it out. But if he moves, it could kill him," the paramedic told him.

"He's a Beta Werewolf from one of the strongest packs in the world. Do you expect me to hold him down?" Stiles replied.

Derek groaned in pain. "I'll be alright. Just do it."

The paramedic sterilized his scalpel and began to cut into Derek's chest. A yellow gas seemed to seep out of the wound. Derek cried out in agony, but soon the wounds that dotted his torso began to seal themselves. "It's working," Stiles pointed out.

It took a while to file the proper police reports and Stiles had to make a call to the insurance company. He had enough money to pay for the repairs, but it meant that the new wing of dormitories would be delayed.

When the coast was clear, Stiles helped Derek into the bedroom, clearing the Mountain Ash line that had previously prevented him from entering it, and told his kids and staff that everything was alright and they could try to get some sleep. Ana had already fallen asleep in Melanie's bed, so the staff member moved to sleep on the couch downstairs. Stiles pulled out his credit card. "Here. There's a hotel a few miles away. Get yourself a room for the night. Help yourself to the minibar if you want."

"Thank you," she replied. She leaned her head into the room. "I'm glad you're alright, Your Highness," she added to Derek who waved and nodded.

Stiles closed the door and crawled into the bed. He ran his fingers over Derek's abdomen, checking to make sure that Derek was fully healed. "Ana—you saved her…" he said softly. "Thank you."

"This place is my home now," Derek replied. "It was my duty to protect it."

"Where were you these past few days?" Stiles asked. "I tried to contact you."

"Nearby," Derek replied cryptically. "And I got your messages. I just wasn't ready to talk."

Stiles sighed. "I'm sorry about what happened the other day. What I said… I can understand if you don't forgive me for it. I just… I hate this double life we're having to live and seeing you lie to that reporter about our argument just sent me over the edge."

"That doesn't excuse it, Stiles," Derek said softly. "I opened up to you. I revealed to you a secret that I hadn't told anyone and you used it against me as a tool to hurt me when you had no other ammo. I'm not sure how I can trust you with anything ever again."

"I understand," Stiles replied. "But for what it's worth… I truly regret what I said. We don't get along and we fight and that's just how our relationship is… but you're right. What I said to you was awful. I don't know why I went for that. I'm very sorry, Derek."

"Are you apologizing because you're genuinely sorry, or because you feel guilty now that I saved Ana's life?" Derek asked.

"I don't know," Stiles replied honestly. "Can we just start over?"

Several minutes of silence passed between them. Each was more punishing to Stiles than the last. Derek stared straight ahead while Stiles nervously attempted to figure out where to rest his eyes. "Hi, I'm Prince Derek Hale," Derek said finally, offering his hand to Stiles.

"I'm Lord Stanisław Stilinski. But you can call me 'Stiles'," he replied, heaving a sigh of relief.

"It's wonderful to meet you, Your Grace," Derek said with a smirk. "Did you hear we're engaged?"

"Yeah, it's a pesky rumor that keeps going around," Stiles laughed.

Derek leaned forward and wrapped his arms tightly around Stiles. "I don't want our life or our relationship to be difficult," he said, returning to a more serious tone. "And this hug feels awkward."

"You're right, it does," Stiles agreed. As they pulled away, Stiles asked, "Do you think our relationship is ever going to be 'normal'?"

Derek shrugged. "I don't know. Neither of us want this. I'm just hoping that we can at least learn to tolerate each other. I'm sick of fighting all the time."

"The sex afterwards is usually pretty good," Stiles pointed out.

Derek smirked. "I thought we started over… I guess you're going to have to show me."

Stiles though he saw Derek wink. "I think I can do that," he chuckled.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Okay so this chapter was a bit longer... and we finally got to meet this AU's Isaac. I'm really excited about the storyline I have planned for him. Also... in the next chapter, wedding bells will be tolling for our odd couple. At least they're not at each other's throats... at the moment. :) Let me know what you thought of this chapter!


	5. The Wedding

The world press was gathered in the biggest wedding celebration since Prince William and Princess Kate. Even the Queen of England herself had sent a guest to act as her proxy. Most people would have been downright excited for this fanfare. But neither groom was particularly happy. Each was with his parent on opposite ends of the cathedral.

"I'm proud of you, Stiles," John said as he straightened his son's bow tie. "The world knows what sacrifices Derek made, but nobody will ever know the sacrifices you made. And that's a real tragedy."

"Dad… please don't," Stiles pleaded.

"This isn't the life I wanted for you, son," John insisted.

"But it's the life you chose for me," he replied.

"I didn't make my decision lightly," John said. "And if I had been given any other option… I would have much rather seen you walking down the aisle toward Lydia… toward someone you love."

"And instead I'm about say my vows to Derek Hale," Stiles said.

"He really is a good guy, Stiles," John said, though Stiles was unsure which of them he was trying to convince. "I just wish I could do something… _anything _to repair our relationship."

Stiles turned around and looked into the mirror. He could see his dad's misty eyes as he stood right behind him. "You could tell me that I don't have to do this."

"You know I can't do that," John replied softly.

Tears began falling down Stiles' cheeks. This was the first time he'd ever truly spoken to his dad about how he felt. This was the first time his father had even shown the slightest bit of interest as to his feelings on the matter. And given that he had less than half an hour until he walked down the aisle and was to forever be wed to Derek, he thought that this conversation was far too late. "You didn't even try, dad. There were so many other options. And instead… you ripped me away from her and you didn't even try to give me the semblance of a choice! This wasn't supposed to be my life. I never wanted to be royal or famous. I never wanted _any_ of this."

"I did what I thought was best for the Territory. And I admit, I didn't stop to think about what would have been best for you… but sometimes that has to happen when you're Royalty. The Hales have _always_ been Royal among Werewolves. It was only natural that Talia became the Queen of the Werewolves in our Territory. And maybe if I hadn't hidden you away from the public eye as much as I did, you would have come to understand the weight of the position you were put in." John had more regrets than he could word, but this wasn't the time to air them. He recognized that the time had long since passed and there was no way to go back to that point. But for his own sanity, he needed to at least attempt to patch things up with his son.

"And maybe if I had been allowed to forge my own way in life, I would have been able to help make decisions that could benefit our Territory," Stiles said. "We rule over the largest population and expanse of land in North America. We could have made it work."

"I understand, Stiles," John said. "I really _am_ sorry."

"It wasn't just my life your decision destroyed," Stiles pointed out. "Lydia and Derek were affected, too. You owe them apologies."

John could see that he wasn't going to make any headway with Stiles. So instead, he reached into a drawer and pulled out a box. When he opened it, he revealed to Stiles the crown that would be bestowed upon him once he was officially Derek's husband. John placed it on his head so that a large sapphire was facing the front. "That sapphire was part of a pendant I gave your mother before you were born. The pendant cost almost six month's salary. She loved it. After she died, I knew I wanted to find a way to give it to you."

"It's lovely," Stiles noted. "Thanks."

* * *

On the other side of the cathedral, Talia Hale was watching as her son finished buttoning the jacket of his tuxedo. "You look handsome," she told him. "You've always looked so dashing in formal wear."

Derek gave a half-hearted smirk in response, prompting Talia to ask him what was wrong. "It's not my place," Derek replied.

Talia sighed, wrapping her arms around her son. "I may be your Alpha and the Queen of the territory… but I will always be your mom first and foremost. You can talk to me about anything. You know that, right?"

Derek half-heartedly hugged her back. When they separated, he finally voiced his opinion. "What you and John have done to us is cruel."

"Weddings between Royals have been arranged for centuries, Derek," Talia said.

"I know that. But Stiles has only been a Royal for 10 years. And I'll be permitted to marry someone else eventually because I'll outlive him… but Stiles is going to spend his entire life married to someone he doesn't love. And if this doesn't work, you've basically doomed him to a life of unhappiness." Derek said. "And I wanted to have kids of my own. How am I supposed to do that when I'm marrying a man? How are we supposed to carry on the line? How are we supposed to create a dynasty?"

"Your father and I had an arranged marriage," Talia told him. "And I grew to love him very much… just as he loved you and your sisters."

"But wolves have different instincts in that regard, mom… and you know it. Stiles is never going to love me… and I don't know that I'll ever be able to love him. Please… call this off. We can come up with a different plan. A wedding ring is supposed to represent love and devotion… not misery and obligation," said Derek.

"If you were this opposed to the wedding, why didn't you say something sooner?" Talia asked.

"Because you're not just my mom. You're my Alpha. When you say you want me to do something, I do it. And after Laura… I felt I had no choice in the matter," Derek replied. "I'm a soldier. I follow orders. That's what I'm good at. I was never supposed to become the Alpha. My life was supposed to be a simple one of following orders. Now I'm having to make decisions and… this isn't a decision I would have made!"

"What would you have done differently?" Talia asked. Her voice was neither angry nor accusatory. She genuinely wanted to know.

"I would have assessed the threat of Hunter resurgence. It's easier to douse small embers than an entire burning forest. I would have made an example out of Hunter rebels and ensured that people understood that Hunters were no longer to be tolerated," Derek replied.

"Spoken like a true warrior," Talia noted. "And history would have remembered you as a despot who squashed any ideas that were counter to your own. Our territory extends from the Great Plains to Pacific Ocean. Your army would be stretched so thin that a new war would be certain to break out. We're accomplishing the exact same feat by showing that love is more powerful than hatred. The public thinks that you and Stiles are madly in love with one another. Love—specifically human love—will always conquer hate."

"But Stiles _does_ hate me," Derek pointed out.

"Being your mother may cause me to be slightly biased, but I find it difficult to think that anyone could hate you. Stiles hates the idea of you… everything he thinks you represent. Show him that you're more than that. Find common ground with him and then build from there," Talia suggested.

"I've tried," Derek told her. "But Stiles impetuous, easy to anger, prone to lash out, and his mood changes often, and I—to be honest… I really, _really_ don't like him. He has no sense of duty to the Territory or his position and if it has nothing to do with his kids, he wants nothing to do with it."

"Derek, your marriage will get easier. I promise," Talia told him. "Until then, make the best of it."

Derek scoffed. "That's the advice you have for your only son? 'Make the best of it.' Mom… I can't make the best of it when he fights me on _everything_."

"Then this is your first test as the future Alpha of the Hales as well as the Territory," Talia told him. "You must learn to negotiate and compromise with even the least accommodating of people."

Derek heard the music begin to play. He knew he had to get in position. Everyone bowed as he and Talia entered the cathedral. He smiled pleasantly, his arm linked with Talia's. They walked steadily down the aisle to the end. Derek could hear people commenting on how good he looked, how happy he must be, and how proud Talia must have been.

Talia didn't smile until she took her spot behind her son at the altar.

* * *

Stiles required a bit more prodding. "Please dad…" he begged, even dropping to his knees. "Daddy please don't make me do this."

"Stand up, Stiles," John ordered, his patience waning. "This kind of behavior isn't befitting of a future Prince of the Territory. We can't go back from this. You have to get out there and marry that boy."

"Mom wouldn't have made me do this," Stiles grumbled as he rose to his feet. "She would have cared enough about my happiness." Stiles turned back to the mirror, wiping the tears from his eyes. He didn't do a thorough job because he knew it was common for people to cry on their wedding day and most spectators would think little of it.

He moved quickly to the door. "Stiles, wait!" John called.

"No, dad," Stiles replied defiantly, taking the crown from his head and placing it back in the drawer. "You've made up your mind. Let's just get it over with."

John reluctantly followed his son, who put on a good enough air as he made his way down the aisle. _This is just like the rehearsal_, Stiles told himself. _Only this time, it's legally binding and when everything is over, you'll be married to him for the rest of your life. No big._ Despite the fact that he wasn't happy about the situation, he noticed something else. _That fucking asshole! He __**would**__ choose today to look drop-dead gorgeous. He should have just stopped at the drop-dead part._

Stiles took his spot in front of Derek. The Justice of the Peace began the typical "We are gathered here today…" nonsense. He kept a running commentary on his head, riffing on the entire ceremony as the Justice discussed love, commitment, and the eternal bonds of marriage. "The grooms have chosen to take the traditional vows," the Justice announced.

Derek went first. He heard Stiles' heart race as he took the ring from Talia and placed it on Stiles' finger. Derek spoke the vows they agreed to. "Stiles, I take you as my husband, with your faults and your strengths, as I offer myself to you with my own faults and strengths. I will help you when you need help, and turn to you when I'm in need of help. May this ring serve as a symbol of my devotion to our vows and to you."

Stiles then took the other ring from his father and slid it onto Derek's finger. "Derek, I take you as my husband, with your faults and strengths, as I offer myself to you with my own faults and strengths. I will help you when you need help, and turn to you when I'm I need of help." _Nailed it_, he thought. _Now that last line_. He took a deep breath. _You've practiced this. You almost believed it that last time you said it in the mirror._ "May this ring serve as a symbol of my devotion to our vows and to you."

"By the power vested in me by Queen Talia Hale and Lord John Stilinski, the crowned rulers of the Territory of California, I now pronounce you married. You may kiss your groom," the Justice said.

Kisses were second nature to them. They had kissed plenty of times in public and they knew how to do it convincingly… but there was a lot of pressure on this kiss. It was their first kiss as a married couple. Stiles was ashamed to admit that they had practiced this kiss, but Derek went off-script. He dipped Stiles back, and kissed him with such intensity that it took the wind from his lungs. It was a great kiss. Spectacular, even. Stiles would go so far as to say it was the best kiss they had shared to date. And he resented it.

When they were standing upright and no longer conjoined at the lips, they walked back down the aisle, rice and confetti being thrown over them as they climbed into the limo waiting to bring them to the extravagant hall that had been booked for the reception.

"Why do I have the sinking suspicion you're mad at me," Derek said once it was just the two of them.

"There's an easy way to tell if I'm mad at you, Derek," Stiles replied. "If you have a pulse, chances are pretty good that I'm mad at you."

"The reception hasn't even started and it's already business as usual," Derek muttered as he looked out the window.

"You shouldn't have surprised me like that!" Stiles scolded. "I rehearsed everything a thousand times to ensure that my heart rate wouldn't even budge when I said the vows. But I should have expected it. It's not like having no choice in my relationship is anything new or anything. I was just hoping that maybe you wouldn't throw me a curve ball on the day of the wedding when the entire world was watching us."

Derek sighed. "You're about to be crowned the Prince of Modesto. Can you at least _try_ to enjoy yourself?"

"So I'm not good enough to be Prince of Beacon Hills, like you?" Stiles shot back. That title was given to the heir apparent to the throne of California, similarly to the title of Prince of Wales in the United Kingdom. He felt incredibly insulted that he wouldn't inherit that title alongside Derek.

"It was decided that you'd receive a different title because it would be confusing if we were both referred to as the Prince of Beacon Hills," Derek replied. "Not everything is a personal attack on you. Despite your belief to the contrary… Not everyone cares enough about you to personally attack you. I just married you and I don't…"

"Thanks, Derek. That's exactly what I needed to hear," Stiles said. Tears began falling from his cheeks. His fingers played with the ring that felt more like a shackle.

"I'm sorry," Derek replied swiftly. He moved next to Stiles and wrapped his arms tightly around him. "This isn't what a wedding is supposed to be like." Stiles didn't have the energy to try and pull away from Derek's attempt at comforting him. He didn't want comfort. He wanted freedom that he'll never get. The tears he had been holding in throughout the entire process burst forth like a floodgate opening. Rather than fighting away from Derek, he found himself turning toward him, burying his face in his husband's neck as he sobbed. "It's alright," Derek assured him. "You deserve a good cry after all of this."

Stiles cried until they reached the hall. People were waiting on them to join, but Derek sat patiently with Stiles, giving him the time he needed, knowing that they couldn't go in separately. When Stiles finally sat up, his eyes were puffy. He tried wiping them with his fingers, but Derek pulled out a handkerchief and did the rest. He searched the miserable face before him, wanting to say something that could comfort him… wanting to love the man he had in his hands, but unable to do so. "Thanks," Stiles said softly.

"What are husbands for?" he asked. Stiles gave a weak attempt to smile. Derek kissed his forehead. Both men knew the gesture was empty, but Derek hoped Stiles would realize that the words that followed were not. "I'm going to do my best to assure that this is as least-painful as possible. I just ask that you do the same."

"The coronation and reception or the marriage?" Stiles asked.

Derek chuckled. "All of the above. Then after, we'll leave for our honeymoon and have a ton of amazing sex… And every time we get to the point where we're annoyed by the other's presence… I'll do that thing with my tongue that you really like."

"That sounds like a plan. Thank you, Derek."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Sorry for the short chapter. I just thought that was a good place to leave off... give them a little happy. Marriage can be hard. Marriage to someone you don't even love is harder. As always, your feedback is not only welcome but encouraged!


	6. The Honeymoon

Stiles and Derek managed to make it into the reception hall with little delay. Talia immediately pulled them aside. "We've decided to postpone the coronation until after your honeymoon… we wanted to try and make it a bit more special," she told them.

"How special could being crowned the Prince of Modesto possibly be?" Stiles asked. "That place is a total shit hole. I couldn't even place it on a map, though not like I'd want to. How am I supposed to be its Prince?"

"There's a lot of support for you in Modesto, Stiles," Talia informed him.

"Really?" Stiles asked skeptically. "It's fucking Modesto. You could have at least given me Sacramento or San Francisco…. You know… somewhere civilized. Hell… give me Napa, that way I can always be sufficiently drunk to handle this entire charade we're going to call my marriage."

"Stiles, don't be ungrateful," Derek said softly.

"What's there to be grateful for? She gave me _Modesto_," Stiles replied. The more he said the word, the more it sounded as though it left a bad taste in his mouth. And it did.

"Nobody has made any announcements as to what the nature of your appointment will be after the wedding," Talia said, making no effort to hide how annoyed she was becoming. "So we can change the title if you wish."

"How about we take care of all of that after the honeymoon?" Stiles asked. "Now, Your Majesty, if you would be so kind as to point me in the direction of the bar."

* * *

The food was delicious, the drinks were strong and plentiful, and the music was fantastic. Stiles was almost able to forget that he hated this entire thing. Stiles had insisted on a DJ. There were certain songs he believed were required to be played at a wedding, and no band could do them justice.

When everyone was up and dancing, Stiles began to have fun. He and Derek were in close proximity, but at his level of intoxication, Derek seemed to be an okay guy. A ballad had begun playing, leading Derek to hold Stiles close, every move choreographed as to provide no suspicion, Stiles backed away. "I'm tired. I need to sit for a few minutes. The dance floor is starting to spin," he told Derek.

"Alright," the Werewolf said, accompanying him back. Once seated, Derek leaned over. "Be careful, Stiles. I might end up thinking you're actually enjoying yourself."

"Well we wouldn't want that, now would we?" Stiles replied, chuckling.

"This is a lot like the coronation when you were young," Derek pointed out.

"With the slight difference of me not trying my best to get you in my bed," Stiles laughed.

The two of them made small talk, joking and teasing one another in a way that gave Derek a slight glimmer of hope toward what he feared would be a long, dull, stressful marriage. The ballad faded from their ears, replaced by a tune that Stiles immediately recognized and knew was highly inappropriate for a wedding.

_Well imagine as I'm pacing the pews of the church corridor and I can't help but to hear—no I can't help but to hear an exchanging of words. "What a beautiful wedding. What a beautiful wedding," says the Bridesmaid to the waiter. _

"_Yes, but what a shame… what a shame the poor groom's bride is a whore."_

Everyone froze. All of the guests looked at Stiles and Derek, anxious to see how they would react. "I'm not entirely sure that song is appropriate for a wedding reception," Stiles said plainly. A general murmur of agreement swept the crowd. Stiles stood up. "Play it louder!"

There was shock, the DJ even looked to Derek who shrugged, then nodded.

* * *

The flight was long, but Stiles slept with his head resting against Derek's shoulder. Derek didn't mind. It was a private flight and there was wifi, so he was able to get some work done, despite the numbness and subsequent pins and needles creeping down his arm. They arrived in the middle of the night to the island of St. Bart's, where the Hales kept a vacation home. It was an expansive villa that was often rented out to honeymooners. This would be the first time a Hale had been to the property for quite some time. Stiles was drowsy, but he couldn't help but look around in awe. Even at night, the villa was gorgeous.

Stiles spun around several times trying to take it all in. Derek walked up to him and wrapped him in a tight hug before kissing him. The kiss was intimate, yet pronounced. It seemed very out of place in terms of their relationship. "Are there cameras nearby?" Stiles asked. He knew Derek's senses would have been able to pick them up, and the lack of privacy was beginning to become something to which he was, unfortunately, getting quite accustomed.

"No," Derek said. "I really just wanted to kiss my husband. The more we try and act like a married couple, the more natural it might feel eventually."

"We only ever kiss when there's a camera to snap a photo of it," Stiles replied. "Intimacy isn't really our thing."

"Maybe it should become our thing. Wolves bond by cuddling and nuzzling one another," Derek told him. "And sex with you is always good… but it's lacking something."

"We both always get off," Stiles said. He was too tired to think about stuff like this.

"But we rarely ever even look at one another while we're doing it. It's just an act to achieve an end…" Derek said. "So since we're going to be here in this house for a week with just the two of us, we're not going to have much to do other than have sex. I was hoping that maybe we could actually get to know each other a bit more intimately…"

"That sounds like work and I'm exhausted. Can we get back to this after I've had some sleep?" Stiles asked.

Derek sighed. "Alright."

They left their bags in the living room, not wanting to expend the energy it would take to unpack their clothes. They headed toward the bedroom, but Derek stopped Stiles, choosing to pick him up. "What are you doing?" Stiles demanded. "Put me down right now!"

"There is very little that is traditional about our marriage, Stiles," Derek said. "But that doesn't mean that I don't still hold some traditions to be sacred. I didn't carry you over the threshold into the villa, but I'm carrying you over the threshold into the room where we're going to consummate our marriage."

"Who says the bedroom is where we'll have sex for the first time as a married couple?" Stiles asked. "What if I take you on that couch right there?"

"Not happening," Derek grunted. "You can definitely top the first time, but it's going to be in a bed. The second time can be wherever you want."

"You're even taking the fun out of our first married fuck," Stiles said. "This marriage is going to be a total blast!" The sarcasm dripping from his voice caused Derek's nose to flare angrily.

"I've got you in my arms. You're going over the damned threshold," Derek replied. "And we're going to have sex in a bed." His tone made it clear that there would be no more discussion on the matter as he carried Stiles up the stairs and into the bedroom before gently setting him on the most comfortable bed Stiles had ever been on. Derek crawled on top of him. "Sleep well." He leaned down and placed another kiss on Stiles' cheek. It felt strange, but Derek hoped that in time, it would come to seem more natural. He hoped their marriage would eventually not be such exhausting work.

"Derek, I'm tired…" Stiles complained.

"Then go to sleep," Derek replied playfully. "I'm not stopping you."

"Fine then," Stiles said. He closed his eyes and adjusted his position a little, causing his pelvis to brush against Derek's in a manner that was accidentally more sensual than he intended before settling into a position more comfortable for sleeping.

Stiles stayed still for several minutes. He knew Derek was still hovering over his body. He could feel himself drifting off to sleep when Derek kissed his lips. His eyes sprang open, glaring at Derek accusingly. Derek backed away, putting his hands in the air as if to say "I'm innocent!" and Stiles closed his eyes again, trying to actually get the rest his body and mind craved. Another kiss came right as he was drifting off again. He pushed Derek back, this time incredibly angry. "What?" Derek asked with a smirk. "You wake up when I kiss you. It's like you're sleeping beauty or something."

"And you're supposed to be Prince Charming in this analogy?" Stiles snapped. "You're not getting any tonight, so you can stop. You're really pissing me off right now."

"Sorry," Derek replied swiftly. "Sleep well," he added before taking his place beside his husband. It took only a little while before he felt Stiles' arm and leg snake around him. It was the first time Derek was ever the little spoon.

The next morning Stiles woke up alone in the bed. He was still in his clothes from the trip and figured he probably smelled pretty ripe, but he'd take care of that later. He crawled out of bed and began exploring the house, trying to find Derek, who was already out at the beach. "Good morning," he called as he splashed in the water.

Stiles needed coffee before he could form whole words, so instead he responded with something halfway between a grunt and a sigh. Derek laughed and came over to him. "Why are you awake?" Stiles asked.

"I don't need as much sleep as you do," Derek replied. "Especially around the full moon. Sorry about last night."

"Water under the bridge," Stiles said. He paused for a moment as everything felt incredibly awkward for some reason. He felt desperate to change the topic of conversation. "Does this place have internet? I have several kids who are meeting with potential families this week, so I am going to need to do a bit of work while I'm here."

"Yeah it has internet," Derek told him. He felt the anxiety coming from Stiles. "Just please don't work all week. We're supposed to be on our honeymoon."

"Celebrating the marriage neither of us wanted, Derek. I figured we would just stay out of each other's hair," Stiles admitted.

Derek's body language became more tense and Stiles could tell he was getting angry. "Are you planning on spending any time with me?"

"I don't know why you care… you don't like me either… and we're stuck on an island together," Stiles said. "What will it hurt if I send some emails and make sure my kids are doing alright?"

"Because I'm going to eventually get to the point where I don't even bother putting in any effort," Derek said. "And that point is getting closer and closer."

"What the fuck, Derek… Last night, I couldn't keep you off me even though I was tired and now you're doing this? Is this because I wouldn't let you fuck me?" Stiles asked.

Derek rolled his eyes and walked back toward the beach. "Go send your fucking emails."

Even though he knew Derek wouldn't see it, Stiles flipped him off with both hands and headed back into the villa. He was startled to see a woman sweeping the tile in the kitchen. She looked up at him and smiled. "Vous avez faim?" she asked.

"Uh… I don't speak French," he stammered.

"Je peux vous faire quelque chose à manger," she said.

"What?"

"Manger!" she exclaimed. She pantomimed the act of eating. "Eat."

"Oh. Yeah," he said. "Thanks—uh merci!"

She immediately fished out a few dishes and began preparing him some food. Stiles dug through his luggage and pulled up his laptop out and turned it on, setting it on a coffee table in the living area. He was still sifting through his emails when he found one that nearly brought tears of frustrated anger to his eyes. The damage caused by the intruders drained too much money for him to still finish the dormitories and the insurance company wasn't going to cover the damage.

The woman was putting the finishing touches on the food when Derek walked in, dripping sea water and a towel wrapped around him. The woman cooked enough for both of them. "Ah merci beaucoup Marie-Claire!" he exclaimed as she sat the two plates near where Stiles was sitting. Derek turned to Stiles. "What's wrong now?"

"I can't finish the addition to the orphanage. The insurance company isn't going to pay for the damages caused by those intruders and the subsequent security upgrade means that I'm about $20,000 short of the total needed for the renovations," Stiles said. "Donations have been drying up and it's sill six months until our annual fund-raiser… and most of my personal money is tied up in trusts that earn much of the interest that keeps the orphanage running."

Derek sliced open the eggs, allowing the yolk to run, covering his entire plate. He dipped a piece of bacon in it and slowly chewed it before standing up and darting upstairs. Stiles eyed the stairwell suspiciously for several moments, before returning to his own breakfast and cranking out a few more emails.

When Derek came back, Stiles was closing his laptop. "You said you're $20,000 short right?" Derek asked.

"Yeah," Stiles said. "I'm going to have to visit my accountant when we get back to the Territory."

"Or you could just go to the bank and deposit this," Derek said, pulling out a check and handing it to Stiles.

"Derek I…" Stiles said as he looked down, to see that Derek had actually made it out for $30,000. "I can't accept this… that's too generous!"

"You're my husband now," Derek replied. "I made a vow to help you when you need help. I'm sorry I was being such a dick earlier."

Overcome with emotion, Stiles wrapped his arms around Derek's neck, pulling him in for a tight hug. "Thank you so much. I'll pay you back, I swear…"

"You don't have to pay me back, Stiles. We're married," Derek replied. "Seriously… use the extra to do something good for the kids." Stiles was still squeezing him, so Derek finally returned it. "I told you this marriage could be more mutually beneficial."

Stiles pulled away and placed a kiss on Derek's lips, deepening it slowly in a way that caused Marie-Claire to clear her throat. "Vous me voulez partir?" she asked. "Je pense que vous désiriez être seuls."

Derek chuckled. "Nous sommes désolés, Marie-Claire."

Marie-Claire simply smiled. "Je reviendrai à preparer le dîner pour vous." She bowed deeply before saying, "Vos Altesses." and walking out.

"What was all that?" Stiles asked. "How did I not know you speak fluent French?"

"She asked if we wanted privacy and I apologized for how forward we were being. She said she'd be back to make us dinner, then addressed us as Your Highnesses before leaving," he explained. "And I speak lots of languages."

"Well… listening to you speak French is sexy," Stiles admitted. "Even if I have no clue what you're saying."

Derek pushed Stiles back and kissed him, letting his lips trail down Stiles' jaw, working toward his chest. "You smell awful," he chuckled.

"I know… I can go shower," Stiles offered.

"Why clean up when you're just going to get dirty again?" Derek asked teasingly.

"Then why bring it up?" Stiles asked.

Derek paused. "I honestly don't know," he admitted. "It's like… we get so caught up in annoying one another that it is almost instinctual."

"Then… I promise that at least on this trip, I'll do my best not to resort to the annoying shit if you will," Stiles said.

"Deal," Derek said, sealing it with a kiss.

"Wanna move this up to the bedroom?" Stiles asked.

"I'm comfortable right here," Derek replied, moving in between Stiles' legs.

They had sex in nearly every room of the villa and even on the beach. By the time it was over, both of them were thoroughly exhausted. Marie-Claire returned, as promised, to make them one of the best dinners either men had eaten in a very long time. Stiles tuned out the French chatting between Derek and Marie-Claire as she cleaned up and bustled out.

"What was all that about?" Stiles asked.

"Oh… apparently there's a storm cell moving over the island tonight. She wanted to get home before it hit," Derek replied.

"Are we going to be alright?" Stiles asked.

"Yeah. She just prefers to be cautious. Just some winds and rain. It'll be fine," Derek replied.

"It's not going to rain for our entire trip, is it?"

"Just tonight and maybe early tomorrow," Derek said. "So why don't we watch a movie and sleep through the storm?"

"Or we could do a little more of what we did earlier…" Stiles suggested.

"I don't know about you but I'm exhausted," Derek said.

Stiles pouted and sighed. "Alright… but no horror films… and no love flicks."

"Buddy comedy?" Derek asked.

"Sure," Stiles replied. "I'm going to shower while you're getting all of that set up."

Derek smiled before they both headed upstairs, though Stiles began drawing his bath. The water felt good, washing off the smells of travel, stress, and sex. He lost track of time and half expected Derek to come tell him to hurry up when the lights turned off. "Really funny, Derek," Stiles said. "I'm almost done. Turn them back on."

There was silence until a clap of thunder so loud it shook the villa boomed outside, followed by a loud whimper, that sounded like a dog whose tail got stepped on. Stiles grabbed the towel and rushed out, sliding on the tile, sending him into the wall, causing another loud bang and a few scrapes and bruises. He pushed himself to his feet trying to get to Derek.

"Derek? Where are you?" he called, barely able to see anything in the darkness.

"No… make it stop…" he heard from a corner, over and over again.

"Derek… it's just thunder…"

"No… they're innocent. Please… there's another way. You don't have to kill them!"

Another boom of thunder was followed by a yelp of terror. In the flash of the lightning that preceded it, Stiles saw Derek hunched over in a corner, his knees drawn all the way up to his chin, his eyes squeezed tightly shut. He slowly approached and laid a gentle hand on Derek's shoulder. Derek reached out, grabbing Stiles' wrist so tightly that Stiles feared he would crush the bones. "Derek… you're alright. But… you're hurting me. Please let go."

"Don't touch me!" Derek growled, but then his voice changed, growing distant and unfocused. "Can you make them stop?"

"It's not real. It feels real… it may even smell and sound real, but it's not," Stiles said, doing his best to remain calm. "Look around you and tell me what you see, smell, hear, taste… Tell me everything. Just breathe slowly and describe to me what you see around you."

Derek was dripping sweat and his eyes were wide and crazed. He tried to take the slow, deep breaths Stiles instructed him to as he stammered out his response. "We're in… the villa. The rain… it's really loud. But I smell you."

"And you know who I am, right?" Stiles asked.

"You're Stiles," he replied. His voice was calming down and the deep breaths were starting to work. "And you're my husband."

"Do you want me to get you some water or something?" Stiles asked.

Derek reached out, grabbing Stiles. The panic instantly returned to his voice. "No! Please!" he yelped. "Please don't leave me…"

"Alright I'll stay with you," Stiles told him. He had a measured calm that he exuded. Most of his kids suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and he did a lot of research on the disorder when he was studying to become a social worker. He knew this disorder well and the fact that Derek was so _normal_ the rest of the time made Stiles wonder how he actually got through each day, given the amount of effort he had to be putting forth to appear that way. "I'll stay with you for as long as you need."

They sat there in silence for a few minutes until more thunder caused Derek to cower and hide his head. Stiles began humming a song he remembered from his childhood, one that his mother often sang to him when he was scared as a child. It seemed to work and Derek moved closer to Stiles. "Will you… will you hold me?" he asked, almost as if he were afraid that Stiles would refuse his request.

"Sure," Stiles replied, moving into a more comfortable position before wrapping his arms around Derek, who rested his entire body against Stiles' torso. Stiles ran his fingers through Derek's thick, black hair and continued humming the song before he finally said, "You could have come and found me when the storm first started."

"Why would I have trusted you with my fears when you've used them against me before?" Derek said weakly.

For the first time in their relationship, the gravity and guilt of his actions actually weighed upon Stiles and they were so heavy that Stiles found it hard to even draw breath. "I'm very sorry for that, Derek. I promise it won't happen again."

It wasn't until dawn was breaking that the storms finally ended. Both Stiles and Derek were tired from their lack of sleep. Derek finally felt safe enough to move from the spot on the floor to the bed where he fell asleep nestled against Stiles.

They slept most of that day. Marie-Claire came, prepared several meals and put them in the fridge with detailed instructions on how to warm them… written entirely in French. Derek woke up with a start and reached out for Stiles, accidentally waking him up. "Are you alright?" Stiles asked groggily.

"Yeah," Derek replied. "I just needed to know you were still there."

"I told you I would stay with you until for as long as you needed," Stiles replied, scooting himself so that he could lean against the headboard. "Are you alright?"

"I'm better now…"

"You don't have to lie to me, Derek," Stiles said softly. "Are you alright?"

Derek looked over at Stiles, inhaled deeply, and prepared to affirm that he was, indeed, alright. But he knew that Stiles would see through that lie as well. "I'm always scared. I'm _the_ apex predator and the second-highest ranked Werewolf in the territory, son of one of the most powerful and respected Alphas to ever exist… I'm the product of a centuries long line of werewolves… and I'm constantly _terrified_," he admitted. "I'm terrified of the most ordinary and natural things. The War ended a decade ago and I can't move past it… what's wrong with me?"

"Nothing's wrong with you. You saw and endured things that are truly horrifying," Stiles said.

"But Betas are trained to fight…"

"Yes… using claws and teeth. Humans are trained to fight with guns and bombs. You weren't prepared for the things you saw… and to be honest, humans are completely horrifying creatures," Stiles said. "You're a Werewolf. You can heal from nearly any physical wound. But when your mind and your heart get hurt… that requires a bit of help."

"I don't know how to do it…" Derek said.

"I do," Stiles replied. "And I know some therapists who specialize in this."

"But we're Princes," Derek said.

"No," Stiles said. "We're people."

* * *

Derek reclined on the couch with a book in his hand as Stiles swam in the ocean. They had spent much of their time together and while Derek felt that it was because of some sense of obligation on Stiles' part, he was happy that they weren't fighting.

When Stiles' phone began sounding, he considered not answering it, but as he looked over, he saw the FaceTime call coming in from Isaac. He reached over and picked it up.

Isaac was wiping tears away from his eyes. "Your Highness," he said, clearly shocked to see Derek's face looking back at him. "I'm sorry… I'm interfering with your honeymoon… I'm such an idiot…"

"Just call me Derek," he replied. "And it's fine. But are _you_ alright?"

"I'll be fine, I guess. Can you just have Stiles call me back?"

"Certainly… but you look like someone who might need to talk right now. I'm willing to listen if you want …" Derek said. He could tell that Isaac felt uneasy. "But if you would rather talk to Stiles, I'll have him call you back when he gets back from the beach."

"No offense, Your Highness… I mean… uh… Derek… I just don't think that you'd care to listen to the ramblings of a teenager scared of his own shadow," Isaac said.

"Probably as interested as you might be of hearing about a Prince with the exact same problem…" Derek said.

"A simple 'no' would have sufficed…" Isaac grumbled.

Derek chuckled. "I actually think I'm guilty of overestimating your interest in how similar we might actually be."

"There's no way you're scared of anything," Isaac replied. "You're one of the most powerful people in the Territory."

"And I'm constantly terrified. Nobody is immune to fear, Isaac," Derek said. "And Stiles was the first person to ever show me that fear is okay. So what are you afraid of?"

"My dad," Isaac answered with no hesitation. "I'm afraid that he'll get me back… or he'll find me when I age out."

"What do you mean 'age out'?"

"After I turn 18, Stiles can't keep me in the orphanage. I'll be forced to figure out my life on my own and I won't be able to hire a lawyer to keep my dad away from me," Isaac replied.

"Stiles won't let that happen to you, you know that right?" Derek told him. "He cares too much about you."

"No offense, sir, but I'm hopeless. My dad may have been a terrible person, but he was always right. I'm weak… I'm a coward. And there's nobody who is ever going to love someone as broken as I am," Isaac said.

"You don't honestly believe that, do you?" Derek asked. He could feel his heart breaking for this kid.

"Of course I do," Isaac said. "How could I not?"

"How old are you?"

"I'm almost 17," he replied.

"And yet you can name your fears and are actively working on dealing with them. That doesn't sound cowardly to me," Derek said. "And I have it on good authority that there was a family that really wanted to adopt you."

"They bailed… they decided on a younger, newer, less emotionally damaged model," Isaac replied.

"Don't they know that with age comes experience and wisdom?" Derek joked.

Isaac didn't find it funny. "I'm getting off the phone now."

"I'm sorry…"

"It's fine," Isaac replied. "But talking to you _did_ help. Thanks Your High—I mean thanks, Derek."

"Anytime," Derek replied, then Isaac ended the call. He looked up to see Stiles looking at him, one eyebrow raised. He had a hard time reading Stiles' body language. "I'm so sorry… I should have come and gotten you…"

"Relax. I'm not mad at you," Stiles replied, wrapping the towel tighter around his waist. "You were really good with him. I was really impressed."

"I know you want there to be a distinct wall between me and what you do… if I overstepped my boundaries, I'm really sorry," he said.

"It's fine," Stiles repeated. "Maybe you can get through to him."

Glancing down, Derek noticed the erection tenting Stiles' bathing suite. "And it looks like somebody's happy to see me..."

"Swimming always makes me incredibly horny... I can't help it..."

Derek smirked. "I can. Where and how?"

"I don't care… I want you to have fun," Stiles replied, giving him carte-blanche. Derek bit his lip before nearly pouncing on Stiles, taking him right there in the doorway.

* * *

The honeymoon was drawing to a close and though he wouldn't admit it out loud, Stiles was actually glad for the opportunity he had to be alone with Derek. The sex had been completely phenomenal and not having to be quiet because there were no kids who could hear the completely wild things they had done was starting to make Stiles feel a little spoiled.

He woke up first and looked over at Derek who was sleeping soundly. It took a few moments for last night's escapade to come back to him and suddenly Stiles realized he would have a hard time looking Talia in the eye after knowing what he and Derek did the night before. He smiled a little and considered covering Derek's butt, but decided it was too good to obscure.

He pulled on a bathing suit and started to head to the beach, but didn't want Derek to think he'd escaped or something, so he grabbed a piece of paper and wrote a note.

_Derek,_

_I headed out to the beach for a swim. I'll be back in a little while… or you can come join me…_

He wondered how to end it. Most newlyweds would write "I love you." But Stiles knew that was a blatant lie and could possibly start a fight. But he no longer hated Derek. He scribbled the first thing that came to his mind and then headed back down to the beach, where he could enjoy the warm, salty water before he went back to pack up to head home.

He had been alone in the ocean for nearly half an hour before he was joined by Derek. "You blank me?" Derek asked.

Stiles blushed. "Yeah… I didn't really know what to write. I figured I would just leave that one open for you."

"You're different towards me," Derek noted, swimming closer to Stiles. Both could still touch the sand, so he felt comfortable, wrapping his arms around his husband. "I like it."

"You haven't pissed me off as much as you usually do," Stiles replied dismissively, forcing Derek to chuckle.

"Or you're coming to care for me…"

"Don't get ahead of yourself, big guy," Stiles said. "I don't hate you. I never said I liked you."

"It'll come," Derek said, leaning forward to kiss Stiles. "I can be one charming Werewolf, you know…"

"Your head is getting almost as big as… your other head," Stiles quipped.

"It's pretty easy to make the other one go down," Derek replied with a grin.

"Smooth, Derek… Really smooth."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Progress! And this chapter is actually kind of long... which is why it took me forever and a day to write it. Let me know what you thought!


	7. Chapter 7

**A little note before we get started...** For the purposes of this story, I am deviating a bit from canon when it comes to Peter Hale. He will actually be a lot closer to Talia's age in this story than to Derek's.

* * *

The week following the honeymoon was a whirlwind. Stiles had plenty of stuff to do for his Orphanage and Derek had state meetings to attend, however the time spent away from one another felt different this time. It was no longer a relief. Stiles was sitting at his desk after Derek's third day in the Capital when he realized that he actually _missed_ him. He pulled out his phone and texted one simple message. "I _ you."

It had become their new thing. Both agreed that they didn't feel love. But they felt _something_. Neither could name it. The word 'fondness' came close, but still didn't quite accurately describe it.

On the fourth day, Derek was supposed to come home. He did, but Stiles wasn't in the Orphanage. Isaac was in the den watching TV. "Do you know where Stiles is?" he asked.

"I think he might be outside… he was really upset earlier," Isaac replied, not looking away from the TV.

"Do you know what about?" Derek asked. Isaac shrugged. "And how are you doing, kid?"

"I'm alright… and I'll be more than happy to discuss it in detail when this show is over," Isaac said.

Derek chuckled. "Alright. I look forward to hearing it." He headed outside, using his abilities to quickly find Stiles. It didn't take long. He was sitting on a swing, Ana standing on his lap. The two were talking. Even though he knew he shouldn't have, Derek focused his hearing.

"What if they don't make me sandwiches?" Ana asked.

"I've already talked to them about that… they'll _definitely_ be making sandwiches for you," Stiles replied.

"But they won't be _your_ sandwiches," Ana pouted.

"They'll still be made by people who love you," Stiles said. Derek could tell that his voice was straining.

"I don't want to leave you," Ana said. Her voice trembled in a way that told Derek she had begun to cry.

"An orphanage is no place to grow up, Ana. You deserve a family," Stiles told her.

Ana was now fully crying and Derek could tell that Stiles was trying not to. "But you're my family, Stiles… Will I be able to see you again?"

"Of course," Stiles replied. Derek heard his heartbeat jump. In truth, Stiles had no idea if he'd ever see Ana again when she walked out of the orphanage the next day in the arms of her new parents.

"I love you, Stiles," Ana said, flinging herself forward and hugging him tightly.

"I love you too," Stiles replied, squeezing her back. Derek slowly walked toward them and Stiles finally saw him. After a few moments, Stiles patted Ana's back and told her to start packing her things. "I'll be up to help you in a few minutes."

Ana nodded and wiped her eyes before climbing off Stiles' lap and walking back toward the Orphanage. "Hi, Mr. Douche," she said sullenly.

"Hi Ana," Derek replied, smiling. He sat at the swing beside his husband. "It's obvious you're not okay. But do you want to talk?"

"I'm not sure I can," Stiles replied honestly. "Because the only thing I have to say make me the most horrible person who has ever lived."

"Then say it to me," Derek said. "I won't judge you. I'll simply listen and then offer you a shoulder to cry on and a hug if you want one."

"It's my job to find them loving homes… to want what's best for them," Stiles said. "But I don't want her to leave… and I know that it makes me completely terrible."

"It doesn't, though," Derek replied. "It just means that you love them. You love them unconditionally. Like a parent would."

"I'm not their parent," Stiles said.

"For right now, you are," Derek told him, placing a comforting hand on Stiles' knee. That was all Stiles needed: permission to feel the emotions he was actually feeling. He finally let it go as tears streamed down his face. He turned toward Derek who wrapped his arms around his husband and let him cry for as long as he needed. And finally, they walked back to the main building, their fingers interlaced.

* * *

The next day, Derek smelled like Stiles. Talia noticed it immediately. Talia also noticed something different about her son. He seemed to stand taller and walk more proudly than normal. He had always been a proud Wolf… but he rarely ever took charge of situations the way he had begun to after the honeymoon.

"You're glowing," she noted to him as they sat down at the table, awaiting the board members of _The Hale Harvest_ to show up.

Since she had been uninterested in his happiness before the wedding took place, Derek felt little inclination to share it with her now that he was actually married to Stiles. "You know how our instincts work when a Wolf becomes monogamous with someone. It's basic biology for us. Nothing more," he replied dismissively. But she was right. He was growing to really care about Stiles. "And besides… this meeting isn't a just-for-fun meeting, mom. There's a reason why I asked for all of the members of the board to be here on such short notice. As well as the Queen."

"I thought it was strange that you didn't even want to _talk_ about the coronation or the title that Stiles will get," Talia replied.

"As long as it isn't Modesto, I don't care," Derek said. "Just… don't give him Sacramento."

"Why?"

"He doesn't know about Uncle Peter yet," Derek murmured as the human board members began filing in.

_The Hale Harvest_ was the largest charitable organization in the Territory. In its infancy, Derek had maintained tight control of the reigns, but as his position as the heir to the Alpha, and then the subsequent engagement and all publicity associated with it drew his attention away, it seemed that many of the board members had lost sight of the mission his organization had. He was able to see reports that showed that a scant 25% of each dollar raised went to perform the tasks that he had set the organization to do. He intended to expand the scope of the organization within the next several months and it simply wasn't a sustainable goal given the fact that the Board, without his permission, had been skimming funds away to instead provide lavish salaries.

When everyone was seated, Derek began the meeting. "Good morning ladies and gentlemen. Don't get too settled in, I suspect this meeting will end up being rather quick." His voice held a commanding authority that caught even Talia off guard. She had never seen her son so determined. Nor had she ever seen him hold his cards so close to his chest. "I've worked with this Board for quite some time. I've come to know many of you quite well and have even come to consider some of you to be family. Four of you were at my wedding. Which is why I find these reports so interesting." Derek threw the stack of papers into the center of the table. "So we're going to go around the room and you each have five syllables in which to defend the extraordinarily generous six figure salaries you've taken it upon yourselves to grant while I trusted you to run the organization because I was handling other endeavors, given my position as the Prince. Charles, we'll start with you."

The man Derek pointed out began sweating nervously. He looked around at his fellow Board Members, all of whom glanced away. "Your Highness, I…" he stammered.

"That's four… You have one more syllable. Choose wisely," Derek snapped.

"I'm sorry," Charles sputtered.

"And that's seven syllables. You're fired. I want you out of this building within the next two minutes and if you aren't, I'll have security escort you out. You're lucky I'm not pressing charges. I would have every right to, considering what you did is both Petit and High Treason, the punishment for which is execution," Derek said. Talia shifted nervously. She didn't like seeing her son like this. Charles made a bee-line for the door, even forgetting his belongings. When he turned around to grab them, Derek flashed his blue eyes and growled menacingly. Charles believed it prudent to simply leave them and get as far away from Derek as possible. "I entrusted this organization to you. I trusted you all to uphold the mission of the organization and to help those affected by the Hunters War, not to help your bank accounts! So imagine my surprise when I look at our numbers to see how feasible it would be to create a new branch to help people deal with post-traumatic stress disorder brought on by the War and to then see that there's practically no money whatsoever because the board voted to increase their pay by more than a thousand percent!" The more Derek spoke, the angrier he got and the louder his voice boomed, rising to the point where the windows shook.

Talia stood up. "Derek, calm yourself!" she ordered.

Even though she didn't flash her eyes, she didn't need to. It was an order from his Alpha. He took several deep, cleansing breaths—just like Stiles had taught him to do—and returned to addressing the people he was about to fire. Talia could hear the calmer, steadier heartbeat in her son's chest and sat back down. "It looks like I just freed up quite a bit of our finances. I want you all to know that you are fired effective immediately and you are to pay back all money received in excess of that _I _approved for you and if you don't think that I'll be accounting for every single cent, you had better guess again."

Talia had never inserted herself into Derek's charity, which is why she found it odd that he asked her to be at this meeting. She wasn't a board member. Suddenly, however, the reason for her presence was crystal clear to her. Since her son wasn't a reigning monarch yet, his influence paled in comparison to hers, which is why when one of the remaining board members stood up and demanded to know on whose authority, she put her faith in her son's judgment and stood back up again. Her eyes burned the fiery red of an Alpha's as she said, "The Queen's."

When they had the room again, Derek thanked her. "I'm going to be able to do some real good with this money," he told her. "Stiles wants me to make the announcement at his coronation."

"You know that there is little I wouldn't do for you, Derek… but I don't appreciate having my authority used when I have no idea why," Talia replied. "What are you planning?"

"I promised my husband we would keep it a secret until everyone could hear it… at the coronation. It's only a few days away. You can wait until then. Besides, I don't think you'd believe me if I told you," he replied.

"What's happening to you, Derek?" Talia asked. "You were never this cold before. You and I were always so close… it was Cora who went through the cold, rebellious stage."

"Is it too much to ask that my husband and I have at least some things that remain between us?" Derek snapped. "After all, _you_ were the one who wanted us to get married. My wolf instincts kicked in. I've become somewhat fond of him and I think he's starting to feel the same way. We're fulfilling our vows and helping each other in ways we never even expected to need help and it's helping me to finally become the person that _I_ want to be. Not the person everyone expects me to be." He turned and headed toward the door.

Talia regarded her son with an unreadable look on her face. Never before had she ever had trouble figuring out what was going on in his head. "Derek… you don't have to shut me out."

Derek paused. "Wait… you don't like decisions that affect you being made without your input? Imagine that."

"That is not the way you speak to your—" Talia began.

"Alpha?"

"I was going to say 'mother' but either works. We are not just family, Derek. We're Pack. That's more powerful than any family bonds. You have to know that if something is truly bothering you, you can come to me about it," Talia told him. "I'm glad you and Stiles are getting along, but I don't want it to be at the expense of our relationship. Please tell me what's going on."

Heaving a sigh, Derek turned around to look at his mother. "If I told you that I think Dad would be proud of the decision I made, would it be enough for you to trust me enough to wait until the coronation?"

Talia nodded. "I know it's my fault, you know."

"What do you mean?" Derek asked.

"The rift between us," Talia answered. "It's my fault. I'll work hard to fix it. But I need help on your end."

"It will take time," he replied. "But now I need to get home. My husband has dinner ready for me."

* * *

The coronation was a much grander affair than either Stiles or Derek imagined. Stiles knew that he needed to take the Hale name in order to be considered a fully-fledged member of the Pack. Derek stood in front of him, adjusting his tie. "You look good," he said.

"Thanks. Are you ready?" Stiles replied.

Derek was nervous, but nodded. "Thank you for letting me make the announcement today."

"You're going to do a lot of good. I'm excited for you, Derek," Stiles replied.

Talia popped her head into the room. "We're ready to start," she announced.

"We'll be right out," Derek replied. Talia left and Derek looked back at his husband. "Are you ready to be crowned?"

"It's Modesto… I could wait the rest of my life," Stiles replied with a chuckle. They left the room and headed into the hall where members of the press, the Human Leadership, and every Alpha of the Territory were gathered. The Alphas were seated at the front, since they played a special role in the course of the coronation. Talia stood at the end of the long walkway. Behind her, Stiles saw his dad and Cora, but there were several more unfilled seats. He knew that one was meant for Laura and the other was meant for Derek's father, but had no idea who the last seat would have belonged to, since Derek was to stand at his side throughout the entire event.

"Now entering the room, Prince Derek Hale and Lord Stanisław Stilinski," a man announced. Everyone rose to their feet, bowing as Stiles and Derek passed by. Both men stared straight ahead, marching forward with regal bearings.

When they reached Talia, she gave permission for everyone to be seated after stepping to the microphone. Stiles stood to her right and Derek right behind him. "The Hale Pack has an ancient lineage and a sacred duty to protect the people who have lived near wherever we have been. We can trace our ancestry back for as long as there have been werewolves, all the way to Lycoan. Our Pack is one of the largest in the world and today, we are adding a new member. Stiles, do you swear to protect the people of the Territory and to fulfill the duties of the Hale Pack as prescribed by tradition?"

"I do," Stiles replied.

"Do you swear to uphold the law and ensure justice and freedom to the People of the Territory, doing so while acting in the name of the Hale Pack?" Talia asked.

"I do." Knowing that this was his cue, Stiles knelt down at her feet.

"Then I, Talia Hale, Queen of the Territory of California and Alpha of the Hale Pack strip you of the title and name of Lord Stanisław Stilinski. From now on, you will be known as His Royal Highness, Prince Stanisław Hale of San Francisco," she said, placing the crown on Stiles head and then beckoned him to stand. "Would the Alphas of the territory please rise in recognition of the Prince."

Stiles watched as all of the Alphas stood and bowed to him before sitting down. Talia stood aside allowing Stiles to approach the microphone. "Customarily, this is the point where I would make some sort of speech about how I intend to uphold the vows I just took. But I've taken these vows before. I was young when I did, but they still weigh on me and impact my work with my Orphanage. I'm, instead, going to donate this time to my husband to permit him to make an announcement."

There was some confusion, but Stiles smiled brightly as Derek took his spot. "I don't think I'll ever get used to hearing him called 'Stanisław Hale' To me, he'll always be Stiles," Derek said. The crowd responded with a combination of chuckles and awe. "Though the War ended a decade ago, many people still live in it every single day, often paralyzed by fear by memories triggered during the most mundane activities that many of you do every single day. It's called Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and for the people who live with it, it can rob them of their ability to live full and meaningful lives. I should know… because for a very long time, I've suffered from it. I never told anyone about it because I was scared that I would be seen as weak or a coward." He glanced over at Stiles, the beginnings of a smile turning the corners of his mouth. "But I finally found someone who gave me the courage to understand what was going on and helped me to find help. But not everyone who has PTSD is married to my husband. That is why I'm announcing today that my charity, _The Hale Harvest_ is going to begin offering free treatment to those suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. _The Hale Harvest_ has always aimed to help people rebuild their lives, but before now we only focused on replacing physical things. But no amount of money or property is going to help when a thunderstorm can trigger crippling anxiety and fear. Instead of the customary gifts that would be given to Stiles to mark this day, we ask that you instead donate toward this cause and help us begin to _truly_ heal the Territory. Thank you."

Stiles felt very proud of Derek for making his announcement. He hugged him tightly, kissing him, perhaps more passionately than he intended. The crowd applauded Derek's courage and when he separated from Stiles, Talia pulled her son in for a tight hug. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea," she whispered in his ear.

"It's alright," he replied.

When all was said and done, they had collected more than $200,000 to help with the start of the new project and several Alphas had sworn more in the upcoming months.

When they were finally alone, Stiles was able to ask Derek how he was doing. "Well I can't wait to see what Lauren Williams will have to say about it all."

"We'll handle Lauren," Stiles replied. He waited for several minutes before finally asking what was on his mind. "Who was the third empty chair for?"

Derek froze. "I…" he started. "It's…. uh…"

"Did I overstep?" Stiles asked.

"No," Derek replied. "But it's kind of a painful memory because…"

"It's alright," Stiles interrupted. "If you don't want to tell me, you don't have to."

Derek shook his head. "Honestly, it's about time you knew. Just bear with me. It's painful because it's the reason why my eyes are blue."

* * *

"_Derek… wake up…"_

"_Laura?" Derek's voice was groggy as he pushed himself up. His bed was warm and comfortable. He didn't want to leave it unless he absolutely had to._

"_Derek you have to get up! The Argents are coming. We have to leave!" Laura insisted, shaking him again._

_There was only one name that could put fear in Derek. His eyes flashed bright gold when he heard it and instantly he was wide-awake. "I just need a moment to grab some clothes."_

"_We're going to the root cellar near the Nemeton. Mom is sending Deaton to protect us. I'm going to leave with Cora and get her as far away as possible. Catch up to us," Laura told him. As she moved away, Derek grabbed her arm, pulling her into a tight hug._

"_Please be careful," he told her._

"_You as well. I'll see you in a few minutes," Laura replied, squeezing him back before leaving the room._

_Derek didn't need to turn on the light. He just switched to his wolf vision and pulled on jeans and a shirt. He didn't worry about shoes. He ran downstairs where he heard his mom, dad, and uncle talking in the dining room. "Deucalion and Kali are on their way. Ennis is refusing to fight," he heard his father say._

"_Ennis has already lost too many of his own. I don't blame him," Talia replied. "But Peter… I need to know now. Did you do anything to incite Gerard's anger?"_

"_Talia I swear! You know how he is… He hates us because we were born!" Peter insisted. _

_Derek wanted to run up to his parents and beg them to come hide with him… or at the very least, say goodbye, but he didn't. He didn't want his mother to know that Laura had let him fall behind so he bolted out the door, quickly catching his sisters' scents and speeding up. He caught them only moments before they were ushered into the root cellar by Dr. Deaton. "Derek! Thank God you got here…"_

"_Why is Gerard attacking?" Derek asked._

"_Who knows?" Deaton replied. "But your mother is going to take care of it."_

"_Deucalion and Kali are coming to help," Derek said. "I heard Mom talking to Dad and Uncle Peter before I left."_

"_If Deucalion's and Kali's packs are coming, then you should have nothing to worry about," Deaton told the three Hale children._

"_You two should probably get some sleep," Laura said. "You have a test tomorrow, Derek… and I don't think your teacher will take 'My werewolf family was attacked by a group of Hunters' as an excuse."_

"_Why not? Remember that time I used 'my sister ate my homework'?" Derek replied, eliciting a chuckle from his sisters. _

"_I'm serious you two… Dr. Deaton and I will keep watch. Get some rest," Laura ordered. She had a higher rank in the pack so Derek felt the weight of her command and his eyelids became heavy. Cora moved closer to him and he wrapped his arms protectively around her. Derek heard Cora's breathing slowly change. He was still too nervous about the fight to actually sleep. He focused his hearing. Miles away he could hear gunshots and crossbows. There were screams and shouting. It went on for hours. Dawn was approaching when they felt it. There was a sudden drop in their power and a searing pain in their chests. Derek had just drifted off. Cora woke in his arms with a start. They both looked fearfully to Laura._

"_What is it?" Deaton asked._

"_Someone died," Laura said, choking back tears._

"_Who?" Cora asked, beginning to cry. Derek felt the tears welling in his eyes as well, but did his best to hold them back, wanting to be strong for her. He looked to Laura for strength and reassurance that everything was going to be alright._

_Laura dropped to her knees, bunching close with Derek and Cora. "I don't know… but we'll be fine."_

_It was several more hours before Kali came to the root cellar. "Alan!" she exclaimed, embracing the Emissary before looking at the three Hale children, huddled together. "Talia sent me to get them."_

"_She survived…" Deaton breathed, shaking with his joy. _

"_Yes," Kali replied. "Deucalion lost several Betas. My pack was lucky… but Stefan…"_

"_Dad?" Derek choked. "No…"_

_Derek felt numb. He couldn't remember what the last words he said to his father had been. Kali walked with them, though each were spaced apart. Laura shifted into her wolf form and stayed several paces ahead of them. He wished he could have at least said goodbye… or 'I love you.'_

_The Hale Mansion normally smelled of patchouli and sandalwood. But the stench of death overwhelmed the spacious home. Derek smelled his father everywhere. Talia was there to greet her children, her eyes red from crying. "Mom… can't you do something?" Derek pleaded. "Is there something we can do to revive him?"_

"_I wish I could," Talia replied. "I really do." She wrapped her arms around Derek. "Your father loved each of you. He was so proud of each of you… as am I."_

_Derek locked himself in his room. He didn't eat or sleep. He only left his room to sneak into his parents' and steal the leather jacket his father always wore. Derek had given it to him as a present during the Wolf Moon celebration when he was 7. He had saved up his allowance for nearly a year. His father loved it. Derek put it on and sat in his bed, his knees drawn up to his chest, crying, inhaling his father's scent and hoping to commit it to memory. His father had been happy the last time he wore the jacket. At least Derek knew that._

_The next day, everyone gathered in the woods behind the Hale house. Werewolf funeral rituals required the body be cremated to ensure that the Hunters couldn't desecrate the remains. The scent of his father's burning corps became etched into his mind. Derek stared at the dancing flames for as long as he could bear before he shifted from anger. He tried to shift back, but couldn't. He turned around and bolted into the woods. Laura and Talia called after him, but they both knew that nothing they could say would help._

"_I'll go talk to him," Peter offered._

"_Just be gentle with him," Talia ordered. "He was so close to his dad and he's taking this so hard."_

_Derek still had the coat on and was furiously scratching into a tree. He could feel control slipping away from him. "Alpha… beta… omega…" he kept repeating. "Alpha… beta… omega…"_

"_It isn't going to work, Derek," Peter said. "You have too much rage. I could smell it a league away from you."_

"_It's not fair," Derek cried._

"_You're right. Your father was a good Wolf," Peter said. "And his death is going to go unavenged…"_

_Derek glared at Peter, his eyes shining gold in his fury. "What do you mean?"_

"_I saw who killed your father. She's still alive, Derek. But your mother doesn't think we should go after her," Peter said, circling around his nephew. "I just think that we shouldn't sit around waiting for them to just kills us in our sleep."_

"_No!" Derek yelled. "She doesn't get to live when my father died… He didn't do anything wrong! They broke the Code!"_

"_They don't care about the code, Derek. They only care about killing us. We've played by the rules long enough. Look where it's gotten us… Stefan is dead. Allard and Luka died last night too. The Argents are going to kill us all unless we act first," Peter said._

"_But mom said not to… and she's the Alpha," Derek said weakly._

_Peter finally stopped circling Derek and crouched low enough to be eye-level to him. "Derek… can you keep a secret?"_

_Derek nodded._

"_Talia isn't the only Hale who's an Alpha now," Peter replied. He flashed his eyes bright red._

_Derek was not impressed. In fact, he was repulsed. "You stole the power… you killed one of our kind…" he snarled. "You're just like __**them**__!"_

"_No… it was given to me by an Alpha who was already dying," Peter assured his nephew. "And I know where to find the woman who killed your father. I know exactly where Victoria Argent is. But I think you should be the one to do it."_

"_Take me to her," Derek demanded. His angered clawing at the tree stopped. Instead, he took the claw of his right index finger and drew one large spiral. Peter watched as a smirk crossed his lips._

"_You aren't ready yet, Derek, but I can teach you a new way to control yourself… to be more powerful than you ever thought possible. Accept me as your Alpha and I'll teach you everything you need to ensure that you never feel this loss and pain ever again," Peter said into his nephew's ear._

"_But wouldn't I be betraying Mom?"_

"_No you're not… you're protecting her," Peter told him._

_That was all Derek needed to hear. Peter brought him to one of the Hale safe houses. Derek still couldn't shift back. He hadn't had this problem since he was little. "How do I control it?"_

"_The anger inside you… stop fighting it. It's just as much a part of you as your claws and fangs. It's who you are," Peter told him._

"_I can't!" Derek roared._

"_Because you still believe the lies your mother placed in your head. We are violent, blood-thirsty creatures. It's in our blood. The Beast of Gevaudan? He was a Hale ancestor and he slaughtered the weak. Stop fighting the rage… contain it, yes…" Peter put his hand over Derek's heart. "Hold it here. Store it until you need it…"_

_It took him several days to master his new control trigger, but soon he could summon the rage he needed at a moment's notice. "I'm ready," he told his uncle. Peter agreed._

_He led them to an abandoned distillery. Peter slid the door open. Once again, Derek's senses were assaulted by the distinct odor of death. About a dozen hunters lay on the floor in pools of their own blood. Kate Argent was there, her blonde hair catching the rays of sunlight that filtered in through the window. Derek shifted, unable to control his rage. "All of these are hunters. They were going to kill your sisters and you. I bit them so they had to take their own lives. But I saved this one for you."_

_The woman was beautiful… stunning, even. But Derek could feel nothing for her but hate. "You killed my dad…" Derek growled as he slowly approached her._

"_I didn't, little pup," she replied, cocking her head as she watched his claws extend. "But I should have. I should have burned your house to the ground when I had the chance."_

"_Why did you kill him?" Derek demanded. "He did __**nothing**__ to you!"_

"_I told you… I. Didn't. Do. It."_

"_I don't believe you!" Derek shouted. "You killed my dad for no reason!" He swiped at her face with his claws, She tried to move away, but couldn't. Four large gashes began seeping crimson blood. She screamed in pain. Derek slashed at her again, this time tearing open her throat. More of her blood coated him and Derek felt it. It was an impossible feeling for him to describe, given all of the other things that he was already feeling… Grief… Anger… Despair… Loneliness… It felt as though a part of him had been taken. He looked at his reflection in one of the large metal distillery containers. The bright gold eyes he was used to seeing weren't the ones reflected back to him. Instead, they were cold and blue. The sight of them made Derek's very bones feel like ice._

_She had been innocent._

"_Peter! What have you done?" Derek heard his mother's voice._

_Derek squeezed his eyes shut, trying to hide them from her. He felt so ashamed. "Mom… I'm sorry," he cried. "Uncle Peter told me she killed dad… I just wanted to avenge him… I'm so sorry…"_

"_It's alright," Talia told him, wrapping her arms around him. "I don't blame you."_

"_They aren't following the Code anymore, Talia. Neither should we," Peter challenged._

"_I told you not to instigate things further with the Argents. You disobeyed me and… you turned my son into a killer. He was just a boy!" Talia roared._

"_And now he's a man!" Peter retorted. "They killed three of ours so I made sure they felt that pain four-fold! You've been holding us all back, Talia. Especially him. I showed him what true power really feels like. I gave him the opportunity to follow an Alpha who won't stand for injustice and won't back down from a threat."_

"_He was to be the next True Alpha, Peter… and you stole that from him!" Talia shot back. "Just like you stole your Alpha powers." Peter froze. "Yeah. I know about that, too. You betrayed our family. You wanted to teach Derek a lesson in ruthlessness… Fine. Leave. Leave my pack… leave this State… I don't even want you on the same continent as Derek. And if I catch so much as a whiff of you anywhere near me or my children again… There won't be a piece of you left that's big enough for us to burn on your funeral pyre. How is that for ruthlessness?"_

"_Talia…" Peter stammered. "I'm your brother._

"_Which is the only reason why I'm giving you a chance to escape," Talia sad as she flashed her eyes red and extended her claws. "I said to go."_

_When Derek could no longer hear Peter, he finally opened his eyes. "How far do you want __**me**__ to go?" he asked, fearful of the answer._

"_What do you mean?" Talia asked him. _

"_I'm a killer… now everyone can see that. I can't go back home…" Derek sobbed. He had just lost his father, now he had to say goodbye to his sisters and mother._

_Derek stared at the floor, his hands hung limply by his side, Kate's blood still dripping off of them. "My sweet boy," Talia whispered, kissing the top of his head. "Your uncle lied to you and manipulated the emotions of a grieving child. He robbed you of a very special gift… nobody can fault you for that. And your sisters and I just lost your father. I don't think we can stand to lose you, too."_

"_But the Hunters are going to come after me now… if I go home, I'll be putting all of you in danger," Derek insisted. "I can't live with that guilt…"_

"_And I can't live without you. Neither can they. We'll protect you, Derek," Talia assured him._

"_What if I become just like Uncle Peter?" Derek asked._

"_I can take the memories away from you, if you want," Talia offered._

_Derek shook his head. "No. I don't ever want to forget this… I don't ever want to forget how awful it felt."_

"_You feel remorse," Talia noted. "Which means you'll never turn out like your uncle."_

* * *

"Gerard found out about Kate and decided to eradicate my kind once and for all," Derek told Stiles. "He outed the Werewolves and started his War."

"You're not responsible for the war, Derek," Stiles said. He could already see the logical conclusion Derek had come to."

"But I am. If I hadn't listened to my uncle… if I hadn't killed Kate, I would have been my generation's True Alpha… not Scott McCall. And the Hunters War would never have happened. I've lived with this guilt for pretty much my whole life, which is why when the nightmares and terrors happened after the war… I figured it was the price I had to pay for what I had done," Derek replied.

"Your Uncle caused this, Derek," Stiles insisted. "Not you. He shouldn't have been allowed to live."

"He wasn't," Derek said softly. "He didn't follow my mom's warning. When we won, he came back, demanding to be named Prince of Sacramento. He said it was his birthright as a Hale to be among the royals. Mom made good on her promise, though. She tore him apart. It was the first time I was ever truly scared of her."

"Your mother can be quite intimidating," Stiles chuckled.

"For years I tried and failed to understand why she did the things she did," Derek admitted. "So I want to thank you…"

"For what?" Stiles asked as he pulled his car into his space at the orphanage.

"Watching you with your kids has shown me what unconditional love is. What my mom did to protect me was hard. She should have banished me like she did my uncle, but she didn't. She knew I needed her more than ever… and after the engagement I was so awful to her," Derek said regretfully. "But she only wanted what was best for me."

"How is being married to someone you don't love what's best for you?" Stiles asked.

Derek sighed. He chose his words carefully, looking at Stiles. They almost became caught in his throat before they managed to escape. "Because I'm not. I see that now."

"Derek I…" Stiles began.

"I know you don't feel that way about me yet and I'm alright with that. But I thought you needed to know that I do. I love you, Stiles," he said.

* * *

**Author's Note**: So I hope you really liked this chapter! There were a couple of scenes in it that I've been chomping at the bit to finally be able to write! Please let me know what you thought of the chapter!


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